Lancaster man arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting sister, 13

The man shared a room with the girl and another sister.|

LOS ANGELES - A man who was sought on suspicion of killing his 13-year-old sister at their Southern California home surrendered Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Eddie Alvirez, 18, gave himself up at a Los Angeles County sheriff's station in Lancaster, the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Alvirez, who had a gun, shared a bedroom in the desert community with the victim and another sister, authorities said.

On Tuesday evening, he pointed the gun at one sister and fired, then ran away with the gun, the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The girl died at a hospital. KCBS-TV said family members reported her first name was Marlena.

It was not yet clear what led up to the shooting, but family members say they believe he may have panicked after firing the gun.

"I know my nephew, I believe it was an accident. He didn't intentionally hurt her. He's loved his sisters from when they were babies," the girl's aunt, Vanessa Zamora, told KCBS-TV.

"He was going to take her to get her nails done. After that, I don't know what happened," Zamora told KNBC-TV .

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.