Dad arriving at son’s youth football game shot dead in parking lot, California cops say

A father arriving to attend his young son’s youth football game died after being shot in the parking lot, California sheriff’s officials told news outlets.

The man was shot in Bellflower at about 8:20 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. He later died at a hospital.

“We were on the field, warming up, and we heard some shots, we got the kids to safety,” Michael Brown, who coaches a North Long Beach Panthers Pop Warner team, told KABC.

Some youth soccer games at St. John Bosco High School, where the shooting took place, were canceled but the football game continued, the station said.

The slain man’s son, who was not immediately told, finished the football game, Brown told KTTV.

Bystanders told authorities that two people pulled up next to the man’s car and opened fire, then sped away, KNBC reported.

“There was no incident, from what we’re hearing, in the parking lot that started this,” sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga told the station. “We don’t know if maybe he was followed here or somebody here recognized him.”

Parents attending games at the school were shocked.

“It’s too much,” Jessica Luevano told KTTV. “You brought a gun to a kid’s festivity. This is insane.”

Police ask anyone with information on the shooting to call 323-890-5500.

Bellflower is about a 20-mile drive southeast from downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published October 6, 2024 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Dad arriving at son’s youth football game shot dead in parking lot, California cops say."