Loved ones mourned a 26-year-old father killed while police investigated a fight that ended in gunfire.
WILMINGTON, Calif. — Candles and balloons outside Red West Pizza marked the death of a 26-year-old father who was shot during his birthday celebration after trying to stop a fight inside the restaurant, police and loved ones said.
The vigil moved the case from a police perimeter to a public mourning site. Relatives and friends gathered outside the Wilmington restaurant to remember a man they described as joyful, peaceful and devoted to his young daughter, while investigators examined how a dispute between two women ended with two men shot.
Michelle Costa, who knew the victim, stood among mourners outside the restaurant and said the man killed did not deserve the violence that took him from his family. “He was a great man. He didn’t deserve this at all,” Costa said. She said the scene changed quickly after shots were fired and that she tried to help him. The vigil took place two days after the Saturday shooting, with prayers, candles and balloons placed near the business on Pacific Coast Highway. Loved ones used the gathering to speak not only about the shooting, but about the person they said was lost in the middle of it.
The man killed has been identified in several local reports as Andres Castellas or Andres Castellano. A later report citing the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Jorbin Castellanos Aguilera, 26. The available public reports do not explain whether the names reflect a legal name, family name or reporting difference. Family members told local outlets he was a father to a 5-year-old girl and had moved from Colombia about three years earlier to provide for her. Maria Rondan, identified as his girlfriend, said he made people feel seen. She said he could enter a room and make someone feel special even if that person did not feel special before.
Police said the violence began at about 5:51 p.m. May 9 at Red West Pizza, 614 W. Pacific Coast Highway. A fight broke out between two women inside the restaurant, according to police. The 26-year-old moved in to de-escalate or break up the fight, and a man opened fire. The gunfire struck him and another man, who was described in some reports as a restaurant employee in his 20s. The second victim was taken to a hospital and was reported in stable condition or with injuries not considered life-threatening. The birthday celebrant died after the shooting. Some early reports said he was pronounced dead at the scene, while others said he was taken to a hospital and later died.
The shooting left investigators with several public gaps. Police did not immediately say what caused the fight between the women. They did not publicly explain whether the shooter was with either woman, whether he knew the victim, or why the effort to stop the fight led to gunfire. Early police information described the suspect as a man in his early to mid-20s who fled on foot. Later local reporting said a man had been taken into custody, but the name of that person and any charges were not included in available reports. No public charging document was available in the reports reviewed for this account.
The restaurant’s place in the neighborhood became part of the community reaction. A nearby resident told NBC Los Angeles that children are often at the pizza shop and said the shooting made a family setting feel unsafe. The business sits on a busy stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington, a harbor-area neighborhood of Los Angeles with homes, small businesses and industrial routes nearby. Police taped off the area after the shooting while officers and investigators worked the scene. Aerial footage from local news showed a large perimeter around the restaurant as authorities searched for evidence.
For the family, the public details of the case were only part of the loss. Loved ones said the man killed had been surrounded by family and friends for his 26th birthday when the celebration was interrupted. Costa said he could make people smile and laugh, sometimes to the point of tears because of his humor. Rondan said someone had taken a father and a son. A fundraising page set up by loved ones described a birthday gathering that should have been filled with memories and joy, then became a tragedy. The page said the money was meant to help with funeral arrangements and support the family.
The official process now turns on identification, evidence and any charging decision. Homicide detectives typically review witness accounts, surveillance video, ballistic evidence, medical findings and the suspect’s statements if a person has been detained. In this case, available reports show police had at least one surviving gunshot victim, multiple witnesses in a restaurant setting and public video from news helicopters showing the response. What has not been released is a complete suspect timeline, the recovered weapon status, or a formal explanation of how the suspect left or was later found.
As of June 3, the public record remained incomplete. Loved ones had held a vigil, the medical examiner had been cited in identifying the victim, and local reports said a man was in custody, but authorities had not released a full public case summary or a detailed filing update.
Author note: Last updated June 3, 2026.