On Monday, investigators were working to establish a connection between the fatal shootings of two men on the same street in Carson and to determine who shot them.
The shootings occurred around 11:35 p.m. Saturday in the 100 block of West 234th Street and the 100 block of East 234th Street.
When officers arrived, they found a man on the street with gunshot wounds and immediately rendered aid to the victim.
“When officers arrived on scene, they found a second man in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers immediately rendered aid to the second man. Fire department personnel responded and pronounced both men deceased at the scene,” the LASD said in a statement on Sunday.
Information about the motive and the suspect was not immediately available.
Relatives of the two men told KTLA at the scene that their names were Richard Mata, 45, and Vaa Fatu, 18. The medical examiner’s office said Mata was 44 years old.
A GoFundMe page set up by the family to raise money for his funeral said Mata was “a loving son, brother, uncle, godfather and friend” and that “Richard’s most precious gift was his (three) beautiful children…”
As of Monday morning, the campaign had raised $1,730 of the $10,000 goal.
Fatu’s father told KTLA that he recently underwent a kidney transplant.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.
