Every evening Larise Smith would take his Lacasapoo dog Toby out for a five-block walk from his home on 3rd Avenue near 42nd Street where he lived for 50 years. Monday on that walk, the 56-year-old man, security guard at a Beverly Hills private school, stopped to chat with a couple of ladies near 7th Avenue when a man approached him and asked a variant of that deadly question "Where you from?' .
A witness said the man actually said "What set are you from?", then produced a handgun and shot Smith in the head. The shooter fled on foot south on 7th Avenue.
Los Angeles Fire Department Rescue Ambulance 34 responded and transported Smith to California Hospital Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.
At the shooting site Tuesday morning, stunned friends and relatives placed candles around a tree where Smith was shot. Among the loved ones was Larise's nephew, Anthony Smith.
"My uncle was a good, quiet guy who never bothered anyone and loved his dogs and his garden," said Smith, adding that his uncle had one daughter who lives in Georgia.
Larise Smith, who turned 56 two weeks ago, took care of his father who passed away in March.
Anyone with information on the killing can call LAPD Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-4341
