A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed while waiting for his mom outside a gas station in Los Angeles, leaving his family and community devastated.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Saith Mendez was gunned down just before midnight on Saturday, August 23, while standing outside the 76 station in Pico Rivera. His mother was working inside the station at the time, according to KTLA.
Detectives said a man in his 20s suddenly approached the teen before opening fire. There was no argument and no robbery before the shooting. Officials told NBC that Mendez was shot multiple times in the back. Deputies responding to the 8800 block of Whittier Boulevard found him with gunshot wounds, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a statement, the sheriff’s department said homicide investigators were looking into the case and stressed that the killing appeared unrelated to another recent homicide in Pico Rivera. At this point, no arrests have been made and there is no suspect information.
Family members shared that Mendez had taken on the role of protector for his mom after his father died a few months ago. They said that sense of responsibility was the reason he was at the gas station that night, waiting for her to finish her shift. “He was curious and full of love,” relatives told CBS News, adding that he was always looking out for his mother.
A family friend revealed just how difficult things have been for Mendez’s mom, who is homeless and raising five kids. “She’s homeless and she was living in a shelter in Long Beach, and she would bring her son because she didn’t want to leave him there,” Christine Kreimann told KTLA. “When she was working with customers, he would come and pick up around the gas station for her.”
The community has rallied around the grieving family. A GoFundMe campaign launched to help cover funeral expenses had raised more than $9,000 of its $15,000 goal at the time of publication. “As my cousin Favi is a single mother of 5, any donation or share means so much to us right now,” the fundraiser’s description read.
The heartbreaking killing has left locals shaken, not just because of the boy’s young age but also because of the senselessness of the violence. Investigators say Mendez and the shooter had no interaction before the gunfire erupted, making the tragedy even more painful for those left behind.
Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward as they continue to search for answers in a case that has turned into a nightmare for a family already struggling to get by.