Young father killed, at least 2 others injured after shooting outside Visalia bar

Flowers and a small vigil sit in downtown Visalia in honor of 22-year-old Angel Rudy Salazar, who was shot and killed in front of a bar over the weekend.

"My son was a good son, caring dad, loving father, brother, had an affectionate smile and everyone loved him. A lot of love, a lot of friends. A lot of big families are gonna miss him," expressed Nina Salazar, Rudy's mother.

It happened in front of Rookies Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Visalia.

Nina says her son was enjoying a night out with friends and would've never expected this to happen.

She is asking witnesses to please come forward.

"I just wish my son was still here and finds justice. If anybody has any information, please contact the detectives. It should not be unseen that nobody deserves this for their child. They just wanna have a good time out here with friends and family," said Nina.

Angel leaves behind two young sons and a girlfriend.

Nina says her grandchildren are keeping her going at this time.

"Angel was a good kid who worked for the High Speed Rail and had a good head on his shoulders," Nina said.

"Loved vintage cars, painting cars. Helping everybody."

Angel's family is devastated and says they will keep fighting for justice.

"It's gonna be hard. I'm gonna miss him every day. I just want to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. I have had too many losses lately, and this is the hardest one."

The gunfire struck at least two others.

Action News also spoke to the mother of one survivor on Monday.

"No parent should have to bury their children; I am so grateful and blessed that I don't have to do that and that I was able to bring my son home, and I think that is what hard is, knowing that that could've been him," said Deidre Johnson.

She says she is counting her blessings after her son was hit by a bullet this past weekend but not seriously injured.

Deidre's son walked right into the crossfire while leaving the bar around 1:30 in the morning.

He was shot in the leg and was able to make it back inside, where employees helped him while taking cover behind the bar.

"I just hear everything in the background. He just kept reassuring me that he was okay, but somebody else wasn't okay," Deidre recalled of the phone call with her son.

Salazar was later identified as the victim of what appears to be a random shooting.

"That is someone's child that got lost, someone's friend, son, nephew. And it's absolutely not fair because of some random act of violence," expressed Deidre.

"My prayers go out to the Salazar family. They are in my thoughts and prayers."

Visalia Police say they are not ready to share surveillance video from the area, but people who have seen it say...

"It didn't look like there was any interaction before it took place. You see four guys walk up to where that gentleman was. My heart goes out to the family on their loss," explained Steve Nelson, the CEO of Downtown Visalians.

Steve says he hopes the dozens of cameras they have around downtown captured enough evidence to find those involved.

"It will be very crucial. It's another set of eyes on," said Steve.

"People need to think about what they do before they do it and the impact it's going to have on families," said Deidre.

She shares that her son is a father as well and is thankful to have him home.

Both Deidre and Downtown Visalians mentioned that their hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the family impacted by this tragedy.

Visalia police say this is an active investigation, and officers are doing everything they can to find the suspects and have them answer for their actions in court.

Anyone with information is urged to come forward. You can reach the Visalia Police Department by (559) 734-8117 or by visiting here.