A 16-year-old girl in California was stabbed by an unknown suspect Friday in a southeastern Los Angeles County city.
Elena Moore was downstairs in her home in Pico Rivera when she was stabbed by someone who entered through the back door of the residence.
Moore ran upstairs to her mother’s room where she staggered into and collapsed, screaming that she had been stabbed.
Authorities were alerted of the incident and arrived at the scene to find Moore suffering stab wounds. Moore was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives are investigating Moore’s death, which occurred at 3:15 a.m. Friday.
A press release from the sheriff’s department said based on Moore’s statements to her mother, Moore’s ex-boyfriend Rory Murga, 17, is a person of interest. Detectives are currently trying to locate the whereabouts of Murga to determine if he was involved in the attack and are seeking the public’s assistance with finding him.
The couple broke off their one-year relationship two weeks prior to Moore’s death.
The motive for the attack is still unclear.
“It is unknown if the suspect was allowed into the residence by the victim or if he forced his way in,” the press release stated.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a makeshift shrine was erected in honor of Moore down the street from her home on Friday evening. Dozens gathered to light candles at the shrine.
Friends of Moore described her as a “happy” girl who “always tried to keep positive” and as a “nice person” to the Los Angeles Times.
David Arias, a neighbor, told the Los Angeles Times that he always saw Murga and Moore as a couple on the street who “seemed mellow, pretty happy.”
“I don’t know how the relationship was, but I know I didn’t like him,” Jonathan Archouletta, a friend of Moore’s, told the Los Angeles Times in regards to Murga. “I never did.”
