A 52-year-old man was shot dead while walking his dog Saturday in the Mid-City community of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The man and his dog were walking at about 5 a.m. near the corner of Genesee Avenue and Saturn Street, when a dark-colored sedan approached and stopped at the northwest corner of the intersection, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.
A suspect exited the car, words were exchanged and he then fired multiple shots at the 52-year-old man. The suspect got back into the sedan and drove the vehicle northbound on Genesee Avenue.
The victim was identified as Marcos Sandoval.
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A neighbor's security camera captured the two fatal gunshots, and the man's dog running back home after the incident.
Warning: The video below contains disturbing images and audio.
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The victim was discovered at about 6:15 a.m. by a passerby, who called 911.
Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded and pronounced the man dead at the scene. His name will not be released until his family has been notified of his death.
The dog was not injured and returned home on its own.
The reason for the shooting is not yet known. Police say they don't yet know whether this was a random or targeted crime.
Neighbors, some of whom were woken up by the gunfire, are disturbed by the incident.
"I never seen anything around here like that before," said Shirley Dionzon. "If someone was shot right out there, who knows who that was, who did the shooting. I’m very afraid now."
Another neighbor, too scared to show her face on camera, says she was woken up by the argument between the two men before the gun went off.
"I woke up to two men, what sounded like an argument," she told NBC4. "Not yelling but loudly talking, which I thought was unusual, [it's a] super quiet neighborhood."
She says it sounded like the two men knew each other, but she couldn't quite make out what they were arguing about. Then, she heard gunshots.
"This is a neighborhood where people get up early walk their dogs, run, it’s something me and my husband do, so the idea that somebody would pull around a corner and shoot somebody when they're walking the dog is horrifying," she said.
LAPD West Bureau homicide detectives urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call them at 213-382-9470 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
