15-year-old killed in Santa Maria, marks fourth homicide this year
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — According to the Santa Maria Police Department, a 15-year-old male Santa Maria resident was shot and killed Saturday evening.
News Channel 3-12 reached out to the teenager's mother, Irma Valverde, who said her son's name was Jesus Valverde.
“He was a loving and good son," said Valverde. "I don’t understand why his life was taken away like this.”
SMPD said the fatal shooting happened at approximately 2:26 p.m. on the 1300 block of North Western Avenue near Oakley Park.
According to the SMPD, the death of Valverde is being labeled a homicide, marking it the fourth homicide this year in Santa Maria.
“We do appreciate the collaboration with our with the public, with our community," said Lieutenant Daniel Rios with Santa Maria Police. "And we rely on help from the community to bring closure to these types of cases.”
The investigation is still on going, according to the SMPD.
“I just ask the community to help find who did this to my son and to collaborate with authorities please,” said Valverde.
The teenager's family started a GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jesus-samir-cabrera-valverde?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.
No further details were released at this time. We will update this article as more information comes in.
Anyone with information related to this incident, is encouraged to contact Detective Juan Rubio at 805-928-3781 ext. 1682.
