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'My Heart Feels Empty': Juan Herrera-Lozano's Family Searches For Answers After Skatepark Murder Of 16-Year-Old

DENVER (CBS4)- For nearly a week, the family of 16-year-old Juan Herrera-Lozano has been gathering at a memorial site set up for their son at the downtown Denver Skatepark. Candles and flowers now line a ledge where Herrera-Lozano used to skateboard.

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(credit: CBS)

"He loved coming here, it made him happy," said Ana Lozano, his mother.

On Thursday Lozano, her husband Domingo Herrera, and their two remaining children handed out flyers at the park urging anyone who may have been in the area on Saturday when Herrera-Lozano was killed to speak up. The shooting happened in the middle of the day.

"We want to be close to where he took his last breaths," Herrera said.

Herrera and Lozano said their son had only been at the park for about an hour before he was shot. Video from the Denver Police Department shows Herrera-Lozano approach a black sedan. Moments later he's seen running away, and he drops to the ground in the middle of the street.

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"My heart feels empty. My life will not be the same," Lozano said. "And the people who took him how they did, it's not fair."

They said their son had been coming to the skatepark almost every day for two years, but that ended when he crossed the street and spoke to an unidentified person.

"I really want them to find the people who did this," Herrera said. "I know there are more cameras in this area… there's no way there's only the one police shared."

Juan Herrera-Lozano pics
Juan Herrera-Lozano (credit: Ana Lozano)

Herrera and Lozano said their son had told them that sometimes people would follow him, but he wasn't worried.

"I told him multiple times to talk to police about it," his mother told CBS4.

A place that brought Herrera-Lozano so much happiness, now the only place of solace for his family. They are hoping the community can help them find answers where there are only questions.

"Just like they had the courage to kill my son, let them come now and see my pain," Lozano said.

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(credit: CBS)

The Denver Police Department did not have any updates on this homicide. Anyone with information on Herrera-Lozano's death is urged to Call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867 - (720) 913-STOP.

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