ANAHEIM, Calif.—Local police are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects involved in the apparent gang-style killing of a local high school football player July 8.
Police have not yet arrested or identified suspects in the case, Anaheim Police Department spokesman Sgt. Shane Carringer told The Epoch Times.
“We’re asking anyone with information to contact Anaheim PD or Orange County Crime Stoppers with information,” Carringer said.
Juan Carlos Reynaga, 17, was gunned down in a residential neighborhood in the 1100 block of North Acacia Street at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday as he and his younger brother were setting off fireworks, Carringer said.
Police are focusing their investigation on a vehicle with at least two suspects inside. Reynaga and the suspects reportedly spoke to each other before the shooting.
The teenager suffered at least one gunshot wound and the suspects fled the scene before officers arrived, Anaheim police told media a day after the shooting.
Paramedics took him to a hospital where attempts to save him failed. He died just before 11 p.m., according to the spokesman.
“The shooting is believed to be gang-related based on the suspects’ actions,” Carringer said. “Juan was not a gang member, not a gang affiliate, and by all accounts, a good kid. Juan was a true victim in every sense of the word.”
Reynaga played freshman and junior varsity football when he attended Anaheim High School, the school’s athletic director told The Epoch Times.
