Gabriel Rodriguez, 17

Died July 8, 2007 at 9:15 p.m.

A worker removes graffiti from a building at Witmer and 3rd streets in Westlake, just west of downtown Los Angeles, the site where 17-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez was killed.

Gabriel  Rodriguez, a 17-year-old Latino, was shot at 1465 E. Witmer St. in the Westlake area near downtown about 7:10 p.m. Sunday, July 8. He staggered into the Colima restaurant, still conscious and breathing, with a single bullet wound to the stomach after Latino assailants in a dark-colored car shot him in the street, said Rampart Det. Fred Faustino. Restaurant workers called 911. The youth died about two hours later, at 9:15 p.m., at County-USC Medical Center. Faustino called it a gang-related killing because of the behavior of the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (213) 207-2060.

Gabriel played on the Belmont High School soccer team, said Angel Martinez, 27, a friend from the neighborhood. His parents are from Mexico. He was admired for his intelligence, said Martinez, noting that he had to maintain his grades to play soccer.

Photo: A worker removes graffiti from a building at Witmer and 3rd streets in Westlake, just west of downtown Los Angeles, the site where 17-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez was killed.