U.S. Marine Vet Gunned Down By Passengers While Working As Uber Driver

Lynwood, CA – A U.S. Marine veteran working as an Uber driver was gunned down by two passengers who took off with his vehicle early Friday morning, according to police.

Aaron Orozco, a 38-year-old, married father-of-two, had been working night shifts for the rideshare company for the past three or four years, his widow told WPVI.

Orozco picked up two passengers shortly before 1:30 a.m. on March 24 and was transporting them to their destination when some type of disturbance erupted, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said in a press release.

The Uber driver pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store located in the 2800-block of Imperial Highway, at which point he and the passengers got into “a physical altercation,” according to the LASD.

One of the passengers pulled out a gun and shot him in the upper torso during the brawl, police said.

The suspects – described by police as black adult males – then fled the scene in Orozco’s 2014 Honda Accord, WPVI reported.

Deputies with the LASD’s Century Sheriff’s station responded to the gas station after receiving a report of a gunshot victim at 1:33 a.m., according to the agency’s press release.

They arrived to find Orozco suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper torso.

Orozco was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies recovered the victim’s abandoned vehicle a short distance away from the convenience store.

The suspects have not been apprehended and police did not release any information regarding their identities.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Orozco’s widow, Sandra Medina, said her husband served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, WPVI reported.

He deployed three times to Afghanistan and Iraq and was a combat veteran, according to the New York Post.

Orozco also leaves behind his nine-year-old son and his three-year-old daughter.

“I haven’t even told my kids yet,” Medina told KTTV. “They still think dad is going to come through the door.”

She said she and Orozco have been together since high school.

A fundraising campaign established to help his family in the wake of their loss has raised more than $95,000 so far.

“Our hearts are with Mr. Orozco Figueroa’s family as they cope with this unfathomable tragedy, and we have reached out to offer our condolences,” Uber said in a statement to WPVI. “We banned the rider’s account and are working with police on their investigation.”

The company said Orozco’s family is also eligible for survivor benefits due to his employment.