Police Searching For Shooter In Duarte Teen's Death

DUARTE (CBSLA.com) — A family is in mourning after a 16-year old was gunned down near his grandmother's house early Sunday morning and the suspected shooter is still on the loose.

"He's been my best friend since about kindergarten. I mean I've known him my whole life. He was more a brother to me than anything," Michael Shane said. "I mean he was really truly my only friend, my first, best friend."

Investigators say the shooting death of Gabriel Shea Carlos is not gang related.

Carlos's best friend Michael Shane was with him the night he died. Shane says the two have been best friends since they were little boys. He's having trouble coming to terms with Carlos's sudden and unexpected death.

Shane says they were at a party Saturday night. When they left, Carlos said he needed to pick something up from a house just a few doors down from his grandmother's house. Shane says when Carlos didn't come back out of the house, he called his sister, who called him an Uber. It was only after hearing the news that Carlos had been shot to death that Shane says he realized what he thought were fireworks was actually gunfire. Police say Carlos was shot at least once in the upper body. He died at the scene.

"He was a good kid, he got mixed up with some bad stuff but other than that he was a great person," Shane said.

Shane's sister Amber says the two have been inseparable since they were little kids. She says Carlos would often spend his weekends at their family's house. The two would play video games, skateboard and hang out. She says Carlos was a student at Mount Olive Alternative Education in Duarte.

"Ultimately he had a good heart. He was in the process of bettering himself. He just got a job two weeks ago, his first job," Amber Shane said.

Police are still looking for whoever shot and killed Carlos. If you have any information call the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.