Man trying to stop fight at Paramount liquor store is killed

A 45-year-old man was killed Monday while trying to help a liquor store employee in Paramount who was fighting with robbery suspects, authorities said.

Two men entered the liquor store in the 8000 block of Somerset Boulevard and a third man remained outside in a white compact car, according to Deputy Mike Barraza of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The two men took beer and liquor but tried to leave the store without paying for the items, prompting a store employee to confront them, Barraza said.

The trio began fighting. A 45-year-old man rushed to help the store employee and the third suspected robber hopped out of the car and began opening fire, wounding both men, one fatally, Barraza said.

The 45-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, sheriff’s officials said. The store employee, a 24-year-old man, was taken to a hospital.

The three robbery suspects fled the scene in the white car, a four-door vehicle with tinted windows, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

All three suspects are described as Latino men between the ages of 17 and 20. The gunman was described as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a scar or tattoo on his left cheek, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

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