Friends mourn skateboarder allegedly killed by suspect in Alhambra deputy shooting

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A skateboarding community in Los Angeles is mourning the shooting death of Dmitry Koltzof, a sportsman who was allegedly killed by the same gunman who would go on to murder an off-duty deputy in Alhambra.

"We have all lost family members before. It is part of life but something so senseless and violent it is really hurtful," says Kolzhof's friend Kalil Hammouri.

To friends, the Russian immigrant was a master of flight on all boards that could move.

As an athlete he took risks. Yet it was when Kolzof was walking in a downtown Los Angeles industrial area favored by skateboarders that he allegedly was confronted by suspect Rhett Nelson of Utah.

According to investigators Nelson also randomly targeted Deputy Joseph Solano an hour later in Alhambra.

Kolzhoff's friends say that he was important, too.

They describe the 31-year old as a community builder for lovers of board sports.

Kolzhof was once a snowboarding contender on the international level but set it aside to instead encourage others.

Now on a GoFundMe page headlined Support Dima's Family, friends are raising money to assist family members coming from Russia and finance the transport of Kolzhof's body back to his homeland.

"I would just like to say thank his family because it was a gift for us to be around him and learn so much from him," says friend Sylvia Mena.