Los Angeles teenager is shot to death two days before his high school graduation

A 17-year-old was shot and killed in Los Angeles while walking with friends early Tuesday, two days before he was to graduate from high school.

Favian Nunez was with three friends at about 12:30 a.m. in the 900 block of West I Street when the gunfire erupted, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

“Someone has said there was a suspicious car that was cruising around in the neighborhood,” Det. David Cortez told KCBS-TV. The car parked in an alley across from where they were hanging out, Cortez said.

Ana Leticia Rodriguez at a memorial for her son Favian Nunez in Wilmington.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A man in dark clothing exited a vehicle and approached Nunez, police said.

The group of friends fled, running in different directions. The gunman fired multiple rounds at Nunez before returning to the vehicle and fleeing, police said.

None of the other boys was injured.

The teen’s mother told the TV station that she woke up from the sound of gunshots and rushed to the scene. There, she saw her son.

Paramedics took Nunez to the hospital, where he later died, police said.

It’s unclear what motivated the shooting. Family members said Nunez wasn’t a gang member. He was scheduled to graduate from Nathaniel Narbonne High School on Thursday, police said.

In a statement issued to the Daily Breeze, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Michelle King said the district was “deeply saddened” by the student’s death.

“His death is a loss to the entire L.A. Unified family,” King said.

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Twitter: @MattHjourno

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