Azusa Man Killed in Shooting Outside Pasadena Taco Shop Identified

Pasadena Fire Dept. personnel rush Bernardo Cortez Velasco, 23, of Azusa, into a rescue ambulance for transportation to a local hospital after he was struck by gunfire and critically wounded in the 2500 block of East Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena on Saturday, March 13, 2021. (RMG News)

Coroner’s officials have released the identity of a 23-year-old Azusa man who was fatally shot while sitting in a car in the parking lot of a Pasadena strip mall last weekend.

Bernardo Cortez Velasco died at a hospital the morning after the shooting, which took place shortly before 9 p.m. on March 13 in front of a strip mall at the the northeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Altadena Drive, according to Pasadena Police Department and Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner officials.

Velasco was seated in a car, along with a 19-year-old Duarte woman, when a gunman approached on foot and opened fire into the vehicle, police said at the time.

Velasco was struck multiple times, officials said. The woman was struck by shattered glass, but not seriously hurt.

A description of the shooter was not available.

A silver or gray Chevrolet or Toyota sedan containing four people was seen speeding away from the scene, but it was not clear if those people were involved in the attack or merely fleeing from the gunfire, authorities added.

A motive in the shooting was not clear.

Anyone with information can reach the Pasadena Police Department at (626) 744-4501. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.