July 7, 2025 | By: Zoe Smolios, Freelance Journalist & PCC Volunteer

“He was the backbone of our family.” That’s how Edgar Vazquez’s younger brother, Angel Vazquez remembers his older brother.

On July 7, 2020, Edgar’s life was tragically cut short after the 20-year-old was shot just minutes after walking out of his family home in Willowbrook, California, to go work an overnight shift as a security officer at the City of Hope Medical Center.

His mother, Gabriela Moreno, says Edgar was special from the day he was born. Being the oldest of three children and having an absent father, Edgar shared a special bond with his siblings and knew he had to be the best role model for them.

“At the end of the day, Edgar would always be there for Mom and siblings,” Moreno said.

Edgar would go into school being known as “Mr. Popular” or “Mr. Cool Guy,” his mother recalls. He was the type of person who could get along with anyone but also seemed to take up an interest in just about anything. He swam, played soccer, skateboarded, learned how to play the drums, and he even got into running which led him to complete the LA Marathon in 2013.

With all the time he spent doing extracurriculars, he still always found time for the ones he cared for the most. Whether he was with his long-time girlfriend Ashley, whom he started dating in middle school and was still with at the time of his death, or his family, Edgar had a way of making everyone feel important. His mother says his grandmother, Abuelita Irene, always said Edgar was her favorite, and that’s something he made sure to brag about in front of his cousins. One of those cousins, Andrea Ramirez, says all her childhood memories are ones she spent with Edgar and Angel.

“I think my favorite memory with them was watching WWE. I can’t name you the Disney Princesses, but I can name you all of the WWE wrestlers,” Ramirez said. “We spent the summers getting watched by my grandma. She was pretty into it, too, which was pretty cool.”

As Edgar grew up, his loyalty to his family and his passions never faded. He wanted to help provide for his mother and siblings, so he took a job working the graveyard shift at the local hospital, but he would also play gigs in a band that he was the drummer for. The night of his murder, he was doing just that, trying to provide for his family.

On July 6, 2020, while he was originally not scheduled to work at the hospital, he decided to pick up a shift to make some extra money.

“I remember him telling me about it when they texted him,” Moreno recalls. “He said, ‘You know I’m tired, but I am going to go.’ He was always very responsible when it came to helping Mom.”

His mother recalls getting home and hearing him in the shower. After he got ready, Moreno and her daughter then walked Edgar to his car, and they all said their goodbyes as they sent him off to work. Just moments later, they heard the gunshots in the alley behind their home.

Angel, who was sitting on the couch, says he and his mother tried to call his brother to make sure Edgar was okay after hearing the gunshots, but knew something wasn’t right after not getting a response.

“We ran down, and I could hear voices shouting my name,” his mother said. “They were saying, ‘It’s Edgar! It’s Edgar!’ And there he was in his car.”

“The worst part was, I didn’t know how to help him,” Angel recalls. “He was in the car with the doors locked and the windows up. The first thing was to call 911 to help, and then I was just calling his name to get him to stay with me.”

Edgar was then rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead just after midnight on July 7, 2020. No witnesses have come forward to say what exactly happened after Edgar walked out the door and drove down the alley, and no suspects have been identified.

Now, five years since his passing, as the family still searches for answers, they know that keeping his memory alive is important.

His brother says that for a while, he had a hard time comprehending the situation and spent a few years full of anger for what happened to his brother. Recently, though, he says he’s learned how to appreciate every person and to have empathy for everyone, and he says the biggest lesson he’s learned from his brother is to always take risks.

“I’ve just learned from his path. His mistakes and his accomplishments,” Angel said.

Andrea also keeps her cousin’s memory alive by taking a shirt with Edgar on it everywhere she goes on trips to.

“It’s just a small detail that I do because I know that if he were alive today, we’d be going to these places together,” the cousin said. “When I went to New York… I was in Times Square with my Edgar t-shirt.”

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If you or anyone you know has any information about Edgar Vazquez’s case, you can contact Detectives Chalmers or Maciel with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323)-574-4347, or you can submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at (800)-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

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