Girl killed in San Pedro car identified as Kayla Huerta, a 17-year-old mother

Authorities have identified a girl shot and killed in her car Monday morning as 17-year-old Kayla Yolanda Huerta, of Wilmington.

Her family told reporters at a vigil Monday night that Kayla had a 3-year-old daughter and wanted to pursue higher education after high school.

“She wanted to show her daughter better in life. She goes, ‘I’m going to go to school and I’m going to accomplish something,’” Yolanda Gonzales, Kayla’s grandmother, told CBSLA.

Kayla was found dead in her car around 2:30 a.m. Monday on the 700 block of West Sepulveda Street in San Pedro, police said. Police first said the victim was a 25-year-old woman, but coroner’s officials identified her Tuesday morning as a 17-year-old, who would have come of age in August.

Police are still searching for the shooter, said Sgt. Bradley Hearn of the LAPD Harbor division.

“Turn yourself in,” Gonzales said Monday night on CBSLA, crying, in a plea to the killer. “You took something precious away from us and … her daughter. That’s all we have now, is her little girl.”

Anyone with information can call Harbor area detectives at (310) 726-7900.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.