Fellow veterans mourn 21-year-old shot to death in Sylmar

SYLMAR, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Veterans who stopped by the makeshift memorial where Francisco Garcia was fatally shot say they never met him, but wanted to stop by because they felt a connection to the 21-year-old U.S. Army veteran.

"The pain that people must be suffering -- I feel that pain just from a distance because he was my brother in arms. He was my brother," a veteran, who identified himself as Michael, said.

"He's younger than my son, you know, and I just felt really bad," Rudy Corderos of Sylmar said. "He's a brother."

Police say Garcia was walking with a group of friends along Dronfield Avenue and Astoria Street just before 2 a.m. Sunday morning. They were leaving a party at his girlfriend's home and moving the party a few blocks away when a dark-colored SUV and a white Honda Accord or Toyota pulled up next to them.

A Hispanic man in his 20s exited the SUV and smashed a beer bottle on the ground and yelled at Garcia from across the way. The man then walked over to the white car, was given a handgun from someone inside and began shooting.

Garcia was the only one hit by the gunfire and died at the scene. Police are still trying to determine details regarding the dispute.

His family says he returned home four months ago after serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Garcia had also recently been accepted to the California Highway Patrol academy.

"He was a great person with a big heart, and I don't know how we're going to make it out of this," Garcia's sister, Valerie, said. "He's the best brother in the world. Sweetest. Big heart. Never hurt anybody."

"This is really sad. It's unfortunate that, you know, this man served his country and he came here to, you know, lose his life here, it's not right," Glorita Ramirez of Sylmar said.

Garcia's family is raising funds for his funeral. To donate, gofundme.com/h0x0dg.

LAPD say they're working on a few leads that were given to them anonymously. Investigators are also looking into the possibility that Garcia may have been associated with a tagging group.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at (818) 838-9948 or Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.