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‘Tell him to come here’

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Joshua Ford, 25, a black man, was sitting inside his parked car outside his home in Compton when he was shot multiple times.

Deputy Denise Fuchs of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Headquarters said the shooting occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Rose Avenue. She said a silver Mercedes-Benz pulled up next to Ford’s car. A passenger in the Mercedes-Benz got out, walked over to Ford and shot him several times.

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The gunman got back in the Mercedes, which was being driven by a black woman, and they sped off east on Peck Street. Ford was shot at least four times, according to his older brother.

A day after the shooting a long strip of police tape remained tied to a street sign. Yellow circles near shattered glass marked where bullet casings had landed in the street. Dried blood stained the dry grass where a red candle had been placed in memory of Ford. At the house, family members and friends stood in the backyard.

Ford’s older brother, who did not give his name, said his brother was a middle child. Ford was a handyman and had no children, the older brother said. He said he did not know whether his younger brother had arrived or was about to leave for work.

Shortly after, the brother began asking where the mayor was. ‘Tell him to come here,’ he said. ‘Check on these murders, come talk to all the families here.’ Ford’s older brother then wanted to know why so many of Compton’s murders have gone unsolved. ‘You want to do your job,’ he told this reporter. ‘Report on that will you.’

-ruben vives / LAT

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