SAN DIEGO — 21-year-old Diego Valera was shot multiple times late Saturday night at Firefighters Park in Lemon Grove. He later died at the hospital from his injuries.
According to the Sheriff's Homicide Unit, Diego and the suspected shooter were arguing minutes before the shooting.
Diego was skating with his friends that night, including his older brother Rafael.
"Everything went blank for me I couldn't believe it, you know, that this had happened," Rafael said. "It felt like I was in a dream, it felt like I was in a nightmare."
Rafael said a woman ran into the park screaming for help, with a man following behind her. He and his friends went to help the woman and the suspect left the park. Minutes later, the suspected shooter came back and began firing, striking Diego.
"As soon as I heard the last gunshot, I get up from the other side of the fence there and I look at my brother behind this bush by that parking spot laying on the floor and I rush to him," Rafael said.
Authorities did not confirm if the woman was there, but said the investigation is ongoing.
After deputies arrived, Rafael said he was tased while trying to get to his brother. He also was giving a citation for obstruction.
"I tried to go back in and like, just hold my brother or something," he said. "I'm laying next to my brother on the floor with just, you know, in tears."
Friends set up a small memorial for Diego at the skatepark. Rafael said he was loved by many in the skating community and his memory will carry on.
"He’s never really going to be gone, we’ll always love him he’ll always be around," a friend visiting the memorial said.
"He's a fallen soldier, but he's always going to be loved by everybody here and he knows that we're always going to remember him and that he really changed everybody he touched in life," Rafael said.
The suspected shooter was arrested Sunday and identified as 27-year-old Joshua Gonzales. He will make his first court appearance Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in El Cajon court.
"To be honest I don't even care because it's just not going to bring back the memories or the memories that I could have made," Rafael said.
Diego's family set up a fundraiser for his funeral costs, you can find it here.