LOS ANGELES -- A man was shot and killed Thursday while removing graffiti from store fronts for an anti-gang organization, police said.
Miguel Rafael Gomez, 35, died in the Boyle Heights neighborhood where he was working for Homeboy Industries, an organization that helps former gang members stay off the streets and contracts with the city to clean graffiti.
Two suspected gang members were being sought in connection with the shooting, said Los Angeles police spokeswoman Sandra Escalante.
Gomez came to the organization to turn his life around after being released from prison, said the Rev. Gregory Boyle, founder of the organization.
"He was a real good kid," Boyle said. "These things are senseless, and it's hard to find reason in it."
Boyle told NBC4's Nerissa Witherspoon that Gomez will be the 126th slain homeboy he's buried since 1988.
Mayor Jim Hahn called the killing a tragedy.
"Young men should not be at risk for their lives while they are participating in an anti-gang program," Hahn said.
Miguel Rafael Gomez, 35, died in the Boyle Heights neighborhood where he was working for Homeboy Industries, an organization that helps former gang members stay off the streets and contracts with the city to clean graffiti.
Two suspected gang members were being sought in connection with the shooting, said Los Angeles police spokeswoman Sandra Escalante.
Gomez came to the organization to turn his life around after being released from prison, said the Rev. Gregory Boyle, founder of the organization.
"He was a real good kid," Boyle said. "These things are senseless, and it's hard to find reason in it."
Boyle told NBC4's Nerissa Witherspoon that Gomez will be the 126th slain homeboy he's buried since 1988.
Mayor Jim Hahn called the killing a tragedy.
"Young men should not be at risk for their lives while they are participating in an anti-gang program," Hahn said.
