This is the sad story of why nobody walks in L.A.

Police today said a North Carolina man who just moved to the area five months ago was fatally gunned down early this morning in Sylmar. And no one knows why.

He wasn't a gangster, it wasn't a gang-infested area, and so far there are no indications it was a robbery:


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Lt. Paul Vernon said in a statement that the victim was walking near Fenton Avenue and Fernmont Street at 1:40 a.m. when a gray American car drove up and a man got out and shot the 29-year-old.

Cops said the victim's girlfriend lived one block away. The man was lying in the street yelling that he had been hit, Vernon said. Neighbors called police.

He was taken to Holy Cross Medical Center where he died. Vernon:

The victim had no gang ties that we can find. He had relocated from North Carolina about five months ago and worked behind the scenes in TV commercials with his girlfriend, who lived about one block away from where the shooting occurred.

The only possibility we can find here is racial motivation.

Cops note that the shooter was described as Latino. The victim “was of mixed Jamaican and Asian ancestry,” according to the LAPD statement. Vernon:

We're looking at several possible motives behind this shooting.

Know something? Call detectives at 818-838-9954.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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