Officials Identify Man Killed in Drive-By Shooting
Los Angeles County coroner’s officials released the identity Monday of a Van Nuys man who was killed in a drive-by shooting while he was looking for a wedding reception near Koreatown and was mistaken for a gang member.
Julio Cesar Lopez, 20, was shot just after 9 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Mariposa Avenue and Pico Boulevard, said coroner’s office spokesman Scott Carrier.
Lopez was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, Carrier said.
The victim, who was not in a gang, was sitting in his car at a stoplight when a black Toyota or Nissan pickup truck pulled up alongside him, said Det. Andy Chicoria of the LAPD’s Rampart Division.
Two men, also believed to be in their 20s, yelled at him and asked what gang he belonged to before firing several shots into the car, Chicoria said.
Lopez’s shaved head and baggy clothes may have sealed his fate, Chicoria said.
“He was dressed in the way kids are dressed these days,” he said.
“If you dress like a gangster and you go down the street in a gang neighborhood, you’re going to have problems,” he said.
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