Devastated Loved Ones Remember Slain LAPD Officer As Someone 'You Could Count On For Everything'

LINCOLN HEIGHTS (CBSLA) — A 24-year-old Los Angeles police officer who was gunned down at a Lincoln Heights taco stand was being remembered by loved ones who said he was the "best kid."

Juan Diaz was killed early Saturday morning, and by Sunday, the search continued for his killer. Family, friends and classmates of the policy academy gathered during an impromptu vigil to remember Diaz.

"We have a mom, a dad, broken," said Sarahy Diaz, his sister.

Sgt. Manuel Hernandez met Diaz as a cadet in the police academy.

"He grew up in a gang infested neighborhood and still never joined a gang," he said.

That's because Diaz grew up not far from where he was gunned down in Lincoln Heights. He graduated from Bravo Medical Magnet High School.

"He was never the jock. He was never the smart kid. He was the best kid," said Martin Gomez, a childhood friend. "You could count on him for everything."

Rene Rivera, another childhood friend, said, "He loved law enforcement. He loved it."

At preschool, Diaz knew he wanted to be a police officer.

"We finally saw him open up a book and actually [was] devoted to something and study something when he was in the academy," his sister said.

His sense of purpose was being echoed by his classmates at the police academy.

"If anything, I think for us, this just gives us more of a mission for why we do what we do every day," said Christina Oka, an academy classmate. "Because there is evil out there that cut the lives of people like Diaz."