Homicide investigators ask for help in solving case of South Gate man shot in front of granddaughter

SOUTH GATE, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County authorities and elected officials on Wednesday reiterated their plea for the public's help in solving the case of a 57-year-old South Gate man who was shot and killed after answering a knock at the door of his son's home.

Hector Ascencio Sr.'s 9-year-old granddaughter was sitting in the living room nearby when he was gunned down around 9 p.m. on Sept. 16, investigators said. The young girl called 911.

Ascencio and his wife were watching several of their grandchildren at the time of the shooting on Glenwood Place, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

At a news conference Wednesday, a sheriff's spokesman, referring to a gray or silver four-door vehicle that was seen on surveillance video, said: "It has not been confirmed if it was involved or not."

A grandfather was gunned down in front of a 10-year-old child while answering the door at his South Gate home. The killer is still on the loose, and a large reward is being offered in the case.

Authorities have not released images of the vehicle, nor is a detailed description of the male suspect available. The motive remains under investigation.

"Most people will never know the pain and the shock that they are feeling," L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said at the news conference, referring to Ascencio's family. "In what should have been his safest space -- his own home -- Hector Ascencio was savagely and senselessly murdered.

A $30,000 reward was offered last month for information leading to the identity and arrest of the shooter.

"If you saw something or you were with the person just speak up. It's not right. Why did they shoot him? He just opened the door and just took him like that," Andy Ascencio, one of Hector Ascencio Sr.'s sons, said in March.

Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500