A man entered a video store and shot 17-year-old Eugene Afable in the back of the head, killing him. Store manager Ismael Magallanes got a glimpse of the shooter running out of the store. Felix Callejas, who was at the laundromat next door, heard the shot and saw a man leaving the video store. Bother were later able to identify gang member Gerardo Romero as strongly resembling the man they saw leaving the crime scene.
About three hours later, Gabriel Cruz, Francisco Piceno, Jose Aguilar, and Reynaldo Hau were sitting in front of a house drinking beer. They were approached by two men who demanded their money and other valuables. One man wore a mask. The other man had no mask and carried a gun. The gunman took Gabriel Cruz’s watch and Reynaldo Hau’s watch. When Francisco Piceno told the gunman to take whatever he wanted, the gunman hit him in the face with the gun, breaking his nose. The gunman then shot him in the face. Piceno survived and fled with Cruz when the gunman dropped the gun momentarily. They heard more gunshots. When the two robbers fled, Cruz returned. He found Reynaldo Hau lying in the driveway, shot in the chest and leg. Hau did not survive.
