Luiz Felipe Lopez-Garcia, 24, was shot and killed in Monroe, North Carolina, on the evening of October 14, 2023. Officers found him around 9:40 p.m. on Walkup Avenue after he had exited the Beni-Mart convenience store and was sitting in his vehicle; he died of gunshot wounds.

Police identified a 15-year-old male suspect who did not know Lopez-Garcia and allegedly fired after taking offense at a perceived look. A secured custody order through the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice led to the suspect’s arrest on October 18, 2023; the juvenile was charged with multiple counts including first-degree murder and transferred to a juvenile detention center.

Lopez-Garcia was born November 23, 1998, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and worked as a construction framer in Monroe. He is survived by his mother, Maria Laura Garcia, his fiancée Mia Guadalupe, who was expecting their first child, and his siblings. Funeral services were held October 25, 2023, with burial at Lakeland Memorial Park.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Monroe Police Department.