28-year-old Fredrick Martin Jr. and his son 8-year-old “Tre” Martin were cleaning out the garage in their Inglewood home when they heard gunfire shots.

Without thinking of his own safety, Martin pushed Tre to the ground and covered his son as the garage was riddled with bullets.

Tre survived the night with only a very small graze wound. Unfortunately, Martin was hit in his chest and abdomen, dying in surgery that same night.

“He did what a father is supposed to do,” Martin’s half-sister, Micharri Pratts said. “He made sure his son was always surrounded by love and support.”

There has been no evidence that Martin was involved in any gang activity. “It appears random,” explained Melanie Miller, Martin’s aunt. “He didn’t live that type of lifestyle, didn’t wear the clothes, didn’t want to be part of it at all.”

A family friend explained that this may have been a case of mistaken retaliation, “From my knowledge … it could have been a case where they retaliated without verifying.”

Fredrick Demetrius Martin Jr. was the star of the football team in Westchester High. Before his junior year, his girlfriend Ebony Delton gave birth to Tre. The family moved to Texas, so Delton and Martin could attend college. After they graduated, the couple moved back to Inglewood and later separated. Martin is now married to Amanda Grant who is expecting a baby this year.

The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.