LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A 30-year-old Los Angeles-area father was shot and killed Sunday. The incident occurred just after midnight at Central Avenue and 92nd Street in South L.A.
James Vargas was with his family when they stopped to pick up food at a nearby taco stand. He was getting out of his car when he was shot and killed by another man who accused Vargas of being part of a gang.
“Some guy in a Tahoe pulled up on him and asked him where he’s from and what gang he was affiliated in, and he didn’t give my brother a chance to say anything,” Vargas’ sister, Kathy, told ABC7. “Just shot him right there.”
Vargas’ family said he was not a gang member and has never had any affiliations with organized crime.
“He’s a family man raised in a good family, good upbringing,” said Vargas’ brother, Billy. “He was a hard-working man providing for his family.”
Witnesses said the gunman and his driver took off in a green Chevy Tahoe. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told KNX 1070 both were still at large as of Tuesday afternoon.
Friends of Vargas’ family have launched a GoFundMe to support his wife, Elvia, and two children.
