Family mourns loss of Lindsay father shot and killed in front of his house

LINDSAY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thursday afternoon, the family of Faustino or 'Tino' Garza gathered in the same spot he was shot late Wednesday night.

Garza was smoking a cigarette outside his parent's house in Lindsay with a girlfriend and her friend. His mother was inside, when she heard their screams.

"(He) walks in, holding his chest, 'Mom, mom, somebody shot me,'" Maria Garza said. "And I go, 'What do you mean somebody shot you?' 'Mom, it hurts, it hurts.'"

Maria Garza says they brought her middle son to a bedroom to lie down-- that's where first responders found Garza. An ambulance took him to Kaweah Delta Hospital, where he died.

The 43-year-old leaves behind seven children and three grandchildren. His mother says he was a giving person; his father says he was quiet. They say he preferred to be outside, and often worked on his quad.

"Something would break and he would fix it," Maria Garza said. "You would see him right there under it."

Police say they're still trying to figure out if the suspect was on foot, or if it was a drive-by shooting.

It's unclear if there was some type of fight leading up to the shooting.

"Basically almost every officer was called in last night to work this crime," said Lindsay Police Chief Chris Hughes. "So now there's a brief lull here, some guys were sent home to get some sleep, some guys are still here working, and we'll keep chasing that as long as we stay hot on the trail."

There's now a GoFundMe page to help with Garza's funeral expenses, but there are still many questions. His mother hopes they'll soon find out who killed her son, and why.

"I do want answers...why, who could just stop there and shoot him like an animal?"