José Flores Velazquez, 24, a doctoral student in astrophysics at UC Irvine, was killed on August 14, 2019, in the Florence-Firestone area of South Los Angeles. He had returned to his childhood neighborhood to visit family and to deliver a baby shower gift to his friend Alfredo Antonio Carrera. The two men were standing in Carrera’s driveway when a dark-colored sedan pulled up and someone inside opened fire. Flores Velazquez was struck and pronounced dead at the scene; Carrera was taken to hospital and pronounced dead shortly after. Both deaths were attributed to gunshot wounds to the torso.

Witnesses reported seeing at least two people in the sedan and hearing yelling before the shooting. Surveillance video and witness accounts pointed investigators to a blue 2004 Nissan Maxima with heavy body damage; two days after the killings, 27-year-old Jonathan Charles Johnson of Lancaster was arrested and suspected of being the vehicle’s driver. Motive remains unclear, and neither victim was reportedly involved in gangs or drugs. Flores Velazquez was described as a rising star in astrophysics, while Carrera was preparing to become a first-time father.

Did anyone in the Florence-Firestone community see the blue 2004 Nissan Maxima or have information about the people inside that night?