A horrific surveillance video shows the moment a Los Angeles father was gunned down while walking his dog early Saturday morning as the city battles an alarming surge in homicides.
The video shows Marcos Sandoval, 52, walking his dog Little Torro at the intersection of Genesee Avenue and Saturn Street as a dark Ford Fusion approaches.
The driver gets out of the car and interacts with Sandoval before two shots are fired.
The first shot caused Little Torro to run across the street and back to the family home to warn his owners of the tragedy. The dog was not injured in the incident.
Police say they have no motive for killing Sandoval and it is unclear if he knew his killers prior to the shooting. His smitten family says he had no enemies.
After the second shot, the suspect returned to the car and fled the scene, heading north along Genesee Avenue.
Neighbors told CBS Los Angeles, which received a copy of the footage, that the area is usually a crime-free area.
The fatal shooting came as Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon came under fire for a surge in homicides in the city and an overall increase in violent crime.
Last week, two top Los Angeles County prosecutors filed a lawsuit against him, alleging they were demoted for filing complaints about their woke bosses’ new policy of requiring light sentences for violent crimes.
The video shows Sandoval walking with Little Torro at the intersection of Genesee Avenue and Saturn Street as a dark colored sedan approaches.
Moments later, Little Torro was filmed running from the scene after his owner was mortally wounded.
Marcos Sandoval, 52, was shot and killed while walking his dog in his Los Angeles area early Saturday morning.
Sandoval’s dog, Little Torro, was the first to alert the 52-year-old man’s family of the tragedy.
Police responded to the Sandoval area around 6:15 a.m. Saturday after a passer-by discovered his body and called 911.
Authorities believe he was shot about 30 minutes earlier.
Sandoval’s daughter said the family knew something was wrong when Little Torro started barking frantically outside their house.
“He started barking at my sister’s window, at the back door, and my sister went to look for him,” she told the TV channel. “When she couldn’t find him, that’s when she called me.”
She and her family told reporters they had no idea why Sandoval was the target of the shooting, noting that they were unaware of any ongoing conflict between father and husband.
“He had no enemies, he was a good man,” said Sandoval’s daughter. “We don’t know why someone would just target him.”
The family created a makeshift memorial at the site of the shooting on Saturday afternoon with candles and flowers.
The victim’s friends, loved ones and other members of the community visited the site to leave memorabilia and offer their prayers to Sandoval, whom the children remember as “hardworking” and caring.
“He always put me and my sister first, and it’s just not fair that they just took him away from us like that,” his daughter said.
The driver gets out of the car and interacts with Sandoval before two shots are fired. The first shot caused Little Torro to run across the street and back to the family home to warn his owners of the tragedy. The dog was not injured in the incident.
After the second shot, the suspect returned to the car and fled the scene, heading north along Genesee Avenue.
Police responded to a report about the Sandoval area around 6:15 a.m. Saturday after a passer-by discovered his body and called 911. Authorities believe he was shot about 30 minutes earlier.
The neighbor, who claimed to have been awakened by the incident, claimed that Sandoval and the suspect had a high-profile disagreement before the shooting.
“I woke up around 5:30 in the morning and heard two men talking loudly and arguing,” said an unidentified neighbor.
“Then my dog and cat woke up and after a few minutes – maybe 5 minutes – I heard two shots. I didn’t know then that they were shots.”
The resident said, based on the tone of the conversation, that Sandoval probably knew the suspect. She added: “It was emotional.”
The LAPD is investigating the incident, but the case has no leads or motive as of Sunday.
“It’s a very quiet area, no major crimes. So we really don’t have any motive for this case,” said LAPD Lieutenant John Radtke.
His description of the area was echoed by longtime resident Shirley Dionzon, who said, “We’ve never had anything like it.”
Lived in the area since 1965.
LAPD homicide detectives are urging anyone with information about the shooting to call the department at (213) 382-9470 or the Crime Squad at (800) 222-8477.
The neighbor, who claimed to have been awakened by the incident, claimed that Sandoval and the suspect had a high-profile disagreement before the shooting.
The victim’s friends, loved ones and other members of the community visited the site to leave memorabilia and offer their prayers to Sandoval, whom his children remember as “hardworking” and caring.
The fatal shooting comes as critics blame District Attorney Gascon’s “soft” policies for the surge in violent crime in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles has seen a 54 percent increase in homicides since 2019, an increase in street shootings since 2020, and an increase in armed robberies.
Gascon, a 67-year-old former assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, took over as district attorney in the predominantly Democratic city in December 2020 and immediately embarked on a program of progressive justice reform, refusing to enforce harsher sentences for gang membership. , certain use of weapons and for previous convictions.
Since taking office, Gascon has refused to meet with prosecutors to explain the logic of his policy, the union said.
He is now said to be changing course amid growing rage and fear that he will face recall, as roused by San Francisco District Attorney Cheza Boudin, whose policies critics say prioritize the well-being of criminals over victims.
Union Vice President Eric Siddall compared DA to a failed experiment.
“More than a year ago, Gascon launched a massive social experiment by diverting prosecutorial resources away from law enforcement while ignoring significant parts of the criminal code,” Siddall said.
“The result is an emboldened criminal element who knows that the district attorney will not prosecute criminals. This experiment needs to end.”
The shooting came as Los Angeles saw a 54 percent increase in homicides since 2019, an increase in street shootings since 2020, and an increase in armed robberies.
Critics blame District Attorney George Garson for the surge in murders.
In the meantime, efforts are being made to have him recalled, causing a recent former LAPD chief who previously supported him to withdraw his support.
Amid growing dissatisfaction with the progressive attorney, more than 600 deputies district attorneys across Los Angeles County supported his recall almost two weeks ago during a meeting of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA).
Attempts to remove the Gascon from office began in December.
Last week, two senior prosecutors – Maria Ramirez and Victor Rodriguez – said they were suing their boss after they said they were demoted for complaining about his policies, Fox News reported.
Efforts are under way to recall Garson (pictured), supported by more than 600 deputy district attorneys across Los Angeles County. Last week, Garzon also faced a lawsuit from two former senior prosecutors.
Ramirez and Rodriguez claim they were reappointed because they opposed Gascon’s bail reform directives and were worried about how crimes were prosecuted.
The lawsuit alleges that the deputies were reassigned “because they disclosed and/or refused to take actions that they reasonably believe were in violation of the law.”
Ramirez is a former director of the Bureau of Specialized Prosecutions, and Rodriguez once headed the Bureau of Industrial and Territorial District II and part of Territorial Region I. Both were demoted to the position of deputy head, the lawsuit says.
Each of the plaintiffs has more than 30 years of experience in the district attorney’s office and, according to their lawsuit, aspired to become an assistant district attorney. Together they managed hundreds of employees before being demoted.
Ramirez claims her demotion came after she complained that Gascon’s directive to substantially change the way juveniles are prosecuted was unlawful. Specifically, the directive directed Ramirez to use alternative prosecution theories that minimized the juvenile’s criminal behavior, no matter how violent, which, according to the lawsuit, did not accurately reflect the true crime.
This meant that, in the case of juveniles, only one charge could be used to prosecute them, no matter how serious the crime was or how many victims there were.
Rodriguez claims he was demoted after discussing possible prosecution of police officers involved in the shooting that killed two people.
Both Ramirez and Rodriguez are seeking unspecified damages, while Gascon’s office is not commenting on the suit due to the pending litigation.