Coroner identifies teen who was shot to death in Indio
Authorities have identified the teenager who was shot to death in Indio late Friday night. The coroner confirmed that 16-year-old Elian Lopez died at Desert Regional Medical Center at 3:01 a.m. Saturday. His family has been notified and police continue to search for the suspect(s).
A makeshift memorial marks the spot inside the Indio apartment complex where the teen was shot and killed. Neighbor Lupe Villalobos said her son was the victim’s close friend who tended to the teenager before first responders arrived.
“I heard six gun shots and then I heard some more. I ran outside and he was the first thing that I saw,” Villalobos told KESQ News Channel 3’s and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner on Monday. “Elian said, ‘They got me, they got me.’ My son hugged him and said ‘stay with me, stay with me’ and laid him on the grass.'”
Elian later died at the hospital. Other neighbors said there was a group of teens hanging around the Cielo Vista apartment complex located off Shadow Hills Drive before the shots rang out.
School officials said grief counseling will be offered at Indio High School after Lopez was shot to death at an apartment complex near the school over the weekend. Authorities said Lopez was shot several times.
The shooting happened Friday at about 11:48 p.m. at the Cielo Vista Apartments, located at 81820 Shadow Palm Avenue, near Monroe Street. Lopez was in the courtyard when officers arrived, and there were no suspects at the scene. Officers haven’t been able to locate the weapon.
A growing memorial has been set up near the pool where Lopez was shot. Those who set up the memorial wrote, “You will be missed Elian Lopez”. A Go Fund Me account has been started to raise money for funeral expenses.
According to police, officers began CPR and Cal Fire transported Lopez to the hospital.
KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner was at the apartment complex Monday morning where neighbors said they heard six or seven gunshots ring out late Friday night.
Katie Widner also met with authorities Monday morning. Officers said they are working to determine the motive behind the deadly shooting. They said the shooting took place a very short distance from the victim’s high school. Police are asking for the public’s help to determine the events that led up to the deadly shooting.
If you have information about the incident, please call the Indio Police Department at 760-392-4057.
The victim attended Indio High School. That’s where grief counselors are on hand to offer students and staff in need of assistance, according to Desert Sand Unified School District’s Mary Perry.
There was no description for the suspect(s) involved in the shooting. KESQ and CBS Local 2 will deliver more details as police continue to search for the shooting suspect(s).
If you have any information related to this incident, contact Indio Police Department at 760-772-8911.
This is Indio’s third homicide of the year. A woman was shot and killed at a hotel room on January 15 and a man was shot to death at an apartment complex on Avenue 50 on February 24.
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