The Los Angeles Medical Examiner identified a teenage boy who was shot and killed near a Chick-fil-A in Cerritos on Saturday.
The boy, identified Sunday as 15-year-old Darnell Jones, was shot close to the fast food restaurant located in the Los Cerritos Center on Gridley Road at around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators say Darnell was taken to a hospital, where he died. No one else was shot, officials said. Details about what led up to the shooting or a possible suspect were unknown.
Video from Saturday showed the area near the Chick-fil-A blocked off with yellow tape, with multiple LASD SUVs and deputies at the scene.
Family members told NBC Los Angeles that Darnell was the youngest of eight children and was going to be a junior at Magnolia High School in Anaheim.
“Darnell was a good boy. He was just a kid, and he got murdered by another kid,” said his father, Tyrell Jones.
His father was holding onto a positive moment he shared with his son at the same shopping center about a year-and-a-half ago.
“I have a good memory with my son at that mall, buying him some shoes for basketball,” Jones said, later adding, “It’s already an ugly debbie downer situation and negative, and I’m just grasping and searching for anything positive I can use to be strong for my family.”
He says he hopes more parents will teach their children how to love.
“I just want to say, we need more community. We need more love. We need to teach our youngins, it’s OK not to be OK,” he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.