Fernando Moreno became a criminal justice major to combat the gang violence he grew up with in the Lennox area. While visiting that very same area, he was shot and killed in the early hours of the morning on Saturday, Dec. 6.

Moreno was standing in front of his mother’s house in Inglewood at 3 a.m. when a light colored car approached him, said Sergeant Infante of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Following an argument with one of the male occupants of the car, one of them brandished a gun and fired several shots into Moreno’s upper body, said authorities.

‘It’s really ironic,’ said Braynt Ortiz. ‘He was studying criminal justice to and then to die from gang violence.’

Moreno was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance, and after several tests, the doctors informed his girlfriend that he was brain-dead. Moreno was taken off life support and died at 7 a.m. Monday morning.

Moreno had a 2-year-old son with his girlfriend, Alexandra Acosta.’ She said apart from being noble and caring, Moreno was very smart and committed to not only providing for his family, but receiving a higher education.

‘He grew up in a bad part of town and saw past it,’ Ortiz said. ‘When his son was born he moved out of Lennox.’

Moreno worked full-time at a Chevron gas station in Manhattan Beach and went to school full-time, so he was usually only home at night. However, this didn’t mean he never attended to his son, said Acosta.

‘You know how some mothers tell their husbands ‘do this’ or ‘do that,’ well I never had to do that with Fernando,’ Acosta said.

Moreno’s family is seeking donations to cover funeral costs.’ For those interested in donating, please contact Bryant Ortiz at sufferdajoy@yahoo.com.