Community Raises Over $200K for Father of Two Killed in LA Shooting Spree

April 29, 2021

A 42-year-old Asian American father of two young children is one of two victims killed in a series of shootings in Los Angeles early Tuesday morning.

The incident: A man in a Jeep Cherokee, identified as Carlos Lopez-Melendez, 50, went on five separate drive-by shootings in and around downtown LA in the span of thirty minutes, reports ABC7. He killed two men and injured a third.

Lopez-Melendez began the shooting spree at around 1 a.m. when he shot and wounded Seth Jones in the area of Figueroa Street and Exposition Boulevard, CBSLA reported.
He then fatally shot a man, identified as Alexis Carbajal, 24, in a Starbucks drive-thru at Figueroa and 28th streets. Carbajal, a newlywed, leaves behind his mother, sisters and wife.
The third drive-by shooting, which happened at Figueroa and 7th streets, claimed the life of an Uber driver, later identified as Asian American Mingzhi Zhu.

More details: Zhu was driving his Cadillac Escalade to pick up a passenger at about 1:25 a.m., when the gunman opened fire at him through the SUV’s window, reports NBC4.

Lopez-Melendez, who fired at officers following a police pursuit, was killed by authorities during a standoff on the 91 Freeway in Fullerton.
The LAPD has yet to identify the suspect’s motive and described the attack to be random in nature.
“We are very mindful of the potentiality for that and leaning into that very actively,” LAPD Police Chief Michel Moore said when asked if the shootings would be investigated as a hate crime.

Terrible loss: Zhu is survived by his two children aged 2 and 8 and wife who are now at a “total loss,” according to a representative.

“He was a hard-working, gentle, kind, deeply loving father and very dedicated husband,” said the family spokesperson.
The South Pasadena community has set up a GoFundMe page describing Zhu as an “honest man who cared for other people and loved his family above all else.”
The crowdfunding effort, which aims to support the grieving family, has so far exceeded its $50,000 goal as of this writing, raising over $200,000.

Featured Image via GoFundMe

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