Slain Cousins Were Like Brothers

Family members on Monday identified two cousins who were gunned down Sunday night just blocks away from their grandmother's home in Moreno Valley.

Arthur Sandoval, 28, and Chris Sandoval, 24, were shot Sunday about 9 p.m. in the Riverside County city.

Arthur, a father of two daughters, was visiting from Alaska for the holidays. He was meeting up with Chris, who had just gotten off work at Wal-Mart.

They were traveling on a skateboard and a bike when someone opened fire on them. A bullet shattered a truck window. Police were searching for the gunman.

"They'll be missed, really missed," said Rachel Sandoval, the victims' aunt, while showing a family picture of her nephews when they were kids.

She said they may have been cousins but they were more like brothers.

"It's just terrible," Rachel Sandoval said. "I can't believe it."

A witness who gave only his first name, Mike, said he heard up to eight shots.

"Pop, pop, pop," he said. "We came outside and saw two guys on the floor."

George Boggs was texting his longtime friend, Arthur, minutes before the shooting.

"He was a good dude, man," Boggs said. "He was about doing right. He came out here to make a better life for his wife and his kids."

The mother of Chris Sandoval's young son said he was a great father.

"That's all I could say. He was a great father," she said.

It's a horrible loss that couldn't have come at a worse time.

"It's not right," said Marlene Sandoval, a family member. "They should not have done that, especially around the holidays."

Family members say neither man was involved in a gang. 

Jonathan Lloyd and Toni Guinyard contributed to this report.