Family and friends mourned the loss on Friday of a 19-year-old man who was shot at close range outside his Lakewood home during daylight hours.
The incident happened in the 3700 block of Arbor Road before 2 p.m. Thursday when Cyrus Henry Alva was approached by two men, and at least one of them opened fire, officials said.
As police tracked down the killers, family and friends held a candlelight vigil at the home on Thursday night.
Alva graduated from Lakewood High School in 2011 and was attending Long Beach City College hoping to become an engineer one day, family and friends said.
"A good kid," said former Lakewood high classmate Breeann Woodward. "Never in trouble. It's just shocking to me."
Friends dropped off flowers, candles and cards at the home, offering their condolences to the family.
“He was a good boy,” said his mother, Shakila Alva. “He loved everyone. He never hurt anyone.”
Violence didn't exist in the neighborhood before this incident, said Gary Harrison, who was returning home from a grocery trip when he said he saw a body in the front yard of the home, blood pooling.
“We’ve never had anything happen like this in our neighborhood,” he said. “Most of the time we don’t even lock our doors.”
Police did not have a description of the assailants, but said they fled in a white car, possibly an older-model four-door Toyota Camry, said Lt. Dave Coleman, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities urge anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.