A man was shot and killed after he got into an altercation outside a burger restaurant in Hawthorne early Wednesday morning, and a suspect has now been taken into custody.
Officials with the Hawthorne Police Department confirmed the arrest just before noon Wednesday.
“Based on statements and evidence collected at the scene, Hawthorne officers and detectives were able to quickly identify a possible suspect,” the Hawthorne Police Department said in a release. “That suspect was tracked to a location in a neighboring city … [and] was safely taken into custody without incident.”
According to the HPD release, officers were initially called to Fabulous Charbroiled Burgers at 3301 Rosecrans Ave. around 2 a.m. on calls of a gunshot victim.
When first responders arrived, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds in the parking lot.
Paramedics attempted lifesaving measures, but the man succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified by loved ones as Eddie McAllister.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s daughter told KTLA that her father was simply getting takeout after getting off work as a security guard early.
“Something so simple as him grabbing his plate; he already had his food, and he was ready to go,” Emani McAllister said. “Something verbal broke out between him and another man, and before you know it they were tussling.”
“Instead of [the suspect] taking a whooping and letting it be what it was, he [resorted] to a gun,” she added.
McAllister also told KTLA that she lost her brother to gun violence in 2011 and that several other family friends have been shot and killed over the last few years.
Distraught loved ones were seen gathering near the restaurant as police put up caution tape and began their investigation.
The Hawthorne Police Department and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office are handling the investigation.
Anyone with further information is urged to call the HPD Detective Bureau at 310-349-2820.
To submit information anonymously, visit lacrimestoppers.org or call 1-800-222-8477.