Juan Castillo
Juan Castillo
Juan Castillo was an 18 year old who was shot down near the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California. He lived in the Santa Monica area of Los Angeles.
Early Life & Activities
A memorial of Juan.
Juan was born and raised in Southern California to immigrant parents.
He was one of the star football players at Santa Monica High School. He was offered a scholarship to play football for a university.
He was also a student who received extra help in his academic studies in after school programs.
His friends described him as "vibrant and bighearted."
He had a job working at Smith & Cohen, a BBQ sports bar in Century City with staff who loved him and his sense of humor and pride towards his family.
He had plans to become a U.S. marine.
Death
On February 27th, 2017, Juan's body was found near 1300 block of 16th Street shortly after 5 a.m.
Police received a report of an unconscious victim lying on the ground with a head injury.
When police and paramedics arrived, Juan was pronounced dead at the scene.
He had a gunshot to the head.
He was gunned down near the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica.
Police found shell casings around a liquor store at 2100 Pico Blvd.
Police found Castillo with a head wound, just one block from the Emergency entrance to UCLA-Santa Monica Hospital.
He was with a woman who had evidently driven him to that location.
He was found just after 5 am Sunday morning, a full 4 hours after the shooting.
Why it took 4 hours to drive half a mile from 2100 Pico to the hospital is unclear.
Police did not know whether the shooting was gang related.
When police found Castillo, his shoes were missing.
An investigation is being conducted by Los Angeles Police Department detectives. Anyone with additional information can call Detective D. Larios at 310-458-8937, Detective B. Cooper at 310-458-8478, or the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8491.