Slaying Victim Dared Man to Fire, Police Say

Los Angeles police Tuesday identified a man sought in a fatal Van Nuys shooting as an illegal immigrant from Mexico who fired a semiautomatic handgun at the victim several times after the victim dared him to do it.

“The victim said, ‘Shoot me,’ and he did,” Detective Don Tabak said.

Police described the suspect, Alejandro Flores, as being armed and dangerous and said he may have fled to the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The victim, Sergio Romero, was shot at 5 p.m. Monday behind an apartment building in the 7560 block of Woodman Avenue.

Flores, believed to be in his 20s, fled in a black 1979 Pontiac with tinted windows and body damage on both sides, Tabak said.

Romero, 17, of Van Nuys, was hit in the chest by several bullets and died at the scene, police said.

The shooting occurred after a fight in which Romero defeated a friend of Flores while Flores watched, Tabak said. When the fight ended, Flores allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Romero. Romero dared Flores to shoot him and Flores did, Tabak said.

Detective Jim Vojtecky said that if Flores went to Mexico, it would be the sixth time this year that a suspect in a slaying being investigated by the Van Nuys Division has fled there.

The Los Angeles Police Department has a special unit that prepares cases for prosecution in Mexico. But the process is tedious and lengthy and requires the translation of all investigative documents into Spanish. None of the suspects who have fled to Mexico have been arrested by authorities there, Vojtecky said.