A woman walking in Carson early Saturday morning was shot to death by a man who approached from behind, authorities said.
The woman had just left a party and was walking to her car with a friend, according to several neighbors who gathered during the day at a sidewalk memorial on Carson Street near Evonda Avenue. They said the friend was not wounded.
The coroner's office identified the slain woman as Cynthia Ambriz, 19, of Wilmington.
She suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to a a neighbor who said he had left the party a minute after Ambriz, heard the gunfire, and ran to where she went down to try to help.
"She was already struggling a lot to breathe," said Michael Escobar. Responding paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Escobar and another neighbor said they saw the shooter double back and run east on Carson Street. It was not immediately known if the gunman had been at the party.
Sheriff's investigators went door to door seeking witnesses who could identify the shooter, and also checking the security cameras of commercial businesses on the north side of Carson Street.
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"Somebody has information on that case," said Los Angeles Sheriff's Homicide Lt. Steve Jauch. "We're spending a lot of time in that neighborhood."
Ambriz was working after graduating from Banning High two years ago, according to a family friend, and arrived at the party after finishing work late Friday evening.
"She's just a great person," said Escobar.
