Felix Curiel death: Fiancée of man shot and killed during argument at East Hollywood McDonald's says he 'died a hero'
A vigil was held on Sunday night for a man shot and killed during an argument at an East Hollywood McDonald's on Saturday.
The gunman says he fired in self-defense, but the fiancée of the man who died is telling a very different story.
The man's fiancée told Eyewitness News she's broken into a million pieces, and now wants justice for her fiancé.
A memorial was set up for 36-year-old Feliciano "Felix" Curiel after he was shot and killed following an altercation with another driver in the drive-thru at the McDonald's on Western Avenue on Saturday.
"He was someone that brought life anywhere that he went, honestly, he was full of light, someone that cared and would help you," Kerin Gonzalez-Molina said.
Curiel and Gonzalez-Molina got engaged in April and just bought a house.
Gonzalez-Molina said it was a normal Saturday night for the couple when everything suddenly changed.
She says they went to McDonald's for a late-night snack when the driver in front of them hit his brakes quickly and then claimed they had hit his car.
Gonzalez-Molina says that after they got their food, he was waiting for them. She says she asked for proof that they hit him, and that led to an escalation between the two groups.
"He pushed him with his body, and that's when my fiancé got mad and swung at him. And when he swung at him, the other guy pulled out the gun, which I didn't even see. My guy just went in front of me like that, and that's when I heard the shots going and I felt that I was hit," Gonzalez-Molina said.
She was shot in the leg, and she says her fiancé was shot in the chest. She later learned he didn't have a pulse when he got to the hospital.
"He pretty much, kind of saved my life as well. He died as a hero. I just wish things were different," Gonzalez-Molina said through tears.
The 21-year-old shooting suspect was taken into custody at the scene. Witnesses say the suspect told them he was shooting in self-defense.
"Self-defense? That was no self-defense. All I want is justice for my fiancé, honestly. This is not OK," Gonzalez-Molina said.
She set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs.
