Javier Colleja, 18

Died Dec. 16, 2007 at 5:03 a.m.

Javier Colleja, an 18-year-old Latino young man, died after being shot at the Tommy's burger 24-hour restaurant at 2575 Beverly Blvd. in LAPD's Rampart Division at 3:43 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 16.

The popular hamburger stand was busy. The crowd consisted of young men and women from all over, including some USC students. Colleja was among a group of people standing outside against the wall eating hamburgers, as is customary there. There were some young men and a couple of young women. The attacker, a Latino man or youth dressed in dark clothing, walked up and, without a word, started shooting at the group, then walked away. Colleja was the only person hit.  He was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

When officers arrived at the scene, much of the crowd had melted away. Fleeing diners had left unfinished hamburgers on the counter.

Colleja's parents live in Mexico; he lived with an uncle and other family members in South Los Angeles. He may not have been the intended target of this shooting, said Rampart homicide Det. Fred Faustino. Anyone who was at Tommy's is asked to call detectives and report what they saw. (213) 207-2060.