$10,000 reward offered in fatal shooting of 20-year-old driver in El Monte

EL MONTE, Calif. (KABC) -- Sheriff's detectives on Friday announced a $10,000 reward in the case of a 20-year-old man who was shot and killed before his vehicle crashed in El Monte last month.

Fabian Barajas was struck by gunfire shortly after 12:30 p.m. April 3 as he was driving in the 12300 block of Valley Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The wounded man's car then slammed through a metal security gate at the front entrance of a business complex.

Barajas, who worked as a machine operator in Walnut, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Family members described him as a car enthusiast who enjoyed playing video games and provided for the household he shared with his mother.

She and Barajas' father were joined by relatives and sheriff's homicide bureau detectives at a news conference in Monterey Park, where they pleaded for the public's help in solving the case.

The family members held signs that read "WE'LL MISS YOU FABIAN" and, in Spanish, "JUSTICE FOR FABIAN."

Investigators released a composite sketch of a person of interest who is wanted for questioning.

With tears in his eyes, Fabian Barajas Sr. said the person who killed his son is "not a human being. He's an animal and I'm not afraid to say it."

"I don't got nothing to lose -- my own son ... I'm not afraid to lose nothing no more," he said. "He was my only son. I don't care no more."

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.