Shoe Palace Shares Tribute To Employee Jayren Bradford Who Was Killed In A Shooting Outside Fairfax Store

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Shoe Palace shared a tribute Friday to Jayren Bradford, their employee who was shot and killed while trying to deescalate an altercation outside the store earlier this week.

A statement posted to the company's Twitter said, "Our Shoe Palace family is heartbroken over the senseless act of violence that took the life of Jaren Bradford."

The company continued, "A loving son, brother, friends and team member Jayren was a light in any room he walked into."

"We ask at this time to respect his family and friends as they navigate through this traumatic event. As an organization, our focus is on Jaren's family."

The shooting occurred on Wednesday around 12:20 p.m. on the 7700 block of Melrose Avenue near Shoe Palace.

When police arrived, they found Bradford suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Employees said Shoe Palace where Bradford worked was having a raffle for a new pair of sneakers when a customer got into some sort of dispute with store employees.

Bradford's colleagues said he heard about the commotion and went to try to break up the fight when someone opened fire.

"Jay came from his car and confronted them saying, 'what's the problem and what's the deal' and everybody shifted their aggression towards Jay," said Keyshawn Williams, a coworker. "And they were here with other friends and they all surrounded him and that's when he was shot."

On Thursday, a 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder, according to the LAPD.

The teen's name was not released because he is a minor.