A Latino boy from Harbor City was murdered last night. Police originally believed him to be in his 20s — even 30s — but the coroner identifies him this morning as 15-year-old Ery Valdez.

City News Service reports that Valdez was gunned down on a sidewalk of a residential neighborhood in Harbor City at about 11:50 p.m. Neighbors immediately began calling 911 to report the gunshots…

… but when LAPD officers arrived, it was too late. Valdez died where he had been shot, near the corner of 256th Street and Senator Avenue.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

The victim was involved in a verbal dispute with an unidentified suspect, [an LAPD spokeswoman] said.

The suspect fired several shots at the victim, striking him in the upper torso and legs, before fleeing the scene, Eisenman said.

A CBS broadcast from the wee hours this morning:

LAPD investigators are still unsure whether the deadly dispute was gang-related. No suspect has been identified.

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