Authorities and footage show that his young grandfather was fatally shot while trying to confront a catalytic converter burglar and a burglar outside his California home.
Juan Sanchez, 48, left the Inglewood home at 3:22am last Tuesday and took action to stop the thief in his neighbor's car, according to Door Cam footage. Retrieved by ABC 7.
Sanchez approaches the burglar as one of them raw her under the car with a saw and threatened Sanchez with a metal rod.
As the violent conflict unfolded, a nasty video showed Sanchez drove down the street and waved desperately on a fire truck believed to be a LA County vehicle as he fell out of sight.
Seconds later, Sanchez was shot in the chest and killed, according to the Inglewood Police Department.
The suspect, believed to be on the 2002-2006 Toyota Camry, ran down the street, officers said.
Sanchez was described as “a devoted husband, a loving father, a proud grandfather and a precious friend of many.”
“My brothers desperately looked back at them, they drove past my brother and after about two seconds he was shot in the chest,” Sanchez's sister Susana Sanchez told ABC 7.
“It's upsetting. It was an idea of what happened in that moment and they were right next to my brother. If they had stopped, they would have saved their lives,” Susana said.
“We have more questions,” the grieving sister said. “From the criminals – just find justice. From the fire department – why didn't you stop? Or did you hear the gunshot when you were at the end of the block and didn't come back as soon as you heard the gunshot?” Susana told the outlet.
“It was a very difficult time to try and understand how someone could do this to other people,” she said.
One of the suspects was said to be a Hispanic man on a heavy set of about 5 feet 4 to 5 feet-6. According to information and photos released by police, the second suspect who was driving the escape vehicle was described as a man only.
Sanchez was an employee of environmental and industrial services company Clean Harbors, his family told the outlet. He was recently promoted after completing a project in the Palisade Fire Zone.
He leaves behind “his beloved wife, two wonderful children, and his precious grandchildren.”
