Family and friends on Thursday mourned the loss of a 26-year-old man shot and killed after an argument outside a Koreatown liquor store.
Juanito Cuevas was gunned down by an unknown assailant Wednesday night near Beverly Boulevard and St. Andrews Place, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Cuevas was struck, then ran for help across the street, clutching his chest and telling a liquor store owner he needed help, before collapsing inside the store.
"He say, 'Call police! I got shot,'" said store owner Moni Biswas.
He says two men outside were already calling 911. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR. But Cuevas died at a hospital.
His father, Cesar, said he was working when his wife called.
"Hey, something happened," he said she told him. "She was worried."
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Cuevas' father said he believes his son was hanging out with friends. Police say he exchanged words with the suspect who then opened fire.
"We were told that it looks like they had words at the very beginning and that the suspect approached in a very aggressive manner," said LAPD Lt. John Radtke. "So at this point all we know is that it was an unknown dispute."
Biswas expressed sympathy to Cuevas' father, who said his son was working with him in the family business, renting dumpsters for events and movie productions.
"We got them working hard in this country to build a future for them," Cesar Cuevas said.
Police had no description of a gunman or a vehicle.
"We're told that it looks like they had words at the very beginning and the suspect approached in an aggressive manner," Lt. John Radtke of the LAPD's West Homicide Bureau said. "At this point, all we know is there was an unknown dispute."
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has security video from the area of the shooting was asked to call the LAPD's West Bureau at 213-473- 0277.
