Santa Maria Police identified the victim who was shot and killed Sunday outside of the 805 Tacos restaurant as Jose Gonzalez Medina, 33.
Medina was the owner of Latino King's Barber Lounge in Santa Maria.
"He would always be there for you if you needed something. He was a good friend," said friend and co-worker Alejandro Aguilera.
Aguilera worked alongside Medina at the barbershop for close to four years, but he'd known Medina for at least 15 years before that.
Friends and employees of Medina say he was a people person, dedicated to his business and loved what he did.
"He was just a nice person," Aguilera said. "That's why I just couldn't believe that something like that would happen to him because every time I would see him, he was surrounded by people and you could tell they cared for him."
The chair Medina used to cut hair in, now is serving as a memorial with flowers and candles in his honor.
According to Santa Maria Police, Medina was involved in an altercation that led to the shooting Sunday afternoon outside of 805 Tacos.
Police say Medina was shot multiple times and was taken to the hospital but died from his injuries.
"There is nothing indicating that it is gang-related right now. That doesn't mean we can rule it out but on the surface it doesn't look that way now," said Lt. Paul Van Meel, Santa Maria Police Department. "You never know what could come up in the future but for the time being, it doesn't appear to be gang-related."
No arrests have been made so far in connection to this case. However, police have identified the suspect in the shooting as Juan Carlos Hernandez, 29, of Santa Maria.
Investigators urge those with any sort of information to contact police.
According to the Santa Maria Police Department, this is the eighth homicide this year. Two of the eight, however, were DUI-related.
A GoFundMe account has been set up in Jose Gonzalez's name. Close to $700 has been raised of the $30,000 goal. Click here to view the page.
