Taco Shop Owner Fatally Shot Remembered as “Hardworking, Responsible, Good Man”

The daughter of a taco shop owner fatally shot at his Lynwood business Monday said her father was a "hardworking, responsible, good man that loved his family."

Jose Padilla, 65, was attacked by three armed men as he was closing up his restaurant, La Playita, around 2 a.m.

A neighbor heard between five and seven shots fired and found Padilla shot. Padilla died at a hospital.

The men fled from the restaurant in a vehicle.

The victim's daughter Miriam Padilla said her father loved his popular taco shop that was often busy until midnight or later. 

"He died in the place that he most loved. He started 15 years ago with just $5,000 in his pocket, him and my mother" she said. "They worked really hard for this."

Padilla's family is offering a reward of their own money for information on who killed him just after Father's Day.

"For Father's Day that's disappointing," Padilla's nephew Jose Tenorio said. "We are disappointed that there’s actually people out there like this."

Authorities were investigating the shop Monday, which appeared to be the scene of a fight. The family said they have turned over surveillance video to detectives, but the sheriff's department has not yet released a detailed suspect description or what kind of car the gunment got away in.

"We want justice, that's all we ask for," Tenorio said.

His six children and 11 grandchildren gathered to mourn his loss Monday afternoon.

"I loved him so much," his granddaughter said through tears. "Rest in peace grandpa."

Anyone with information was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

NBC4's Gadi Schwartz contributed to this report.

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