The Victim Has Been Described as a “Protector” Who “Got Shot Defending a Homegirl”
Police continue to look for the gunman who killed a homeless man in Venice Beach during an argument late April 2, LAPD confirmed Thursday evening.
Los Angeles police were alerted to a shooting at the Westminster Dog Park around 10:20 p.m. When officers arrived, they found 28-year-old unhoused man Zackery Melton dead at the scene. Melton had witnessed a couple arguing and attempted to intervene, according to a woman who identified herself to the Los Angeles Times as Melton’s girlfriend.
“[Zack] was such a protector,” she told the Times. “He got shot defending a homegirl.”
After the shooting, the gunman fled into a nearby building. Police surrounded the building and later entered but did not locate the suspect.
Since the shooting, a small memorial for Melton has begun to grow at the park, with flowers now covering a parking spot where the confrontation unfolded, the Times reported.
