A 15-year-old student athlete who was fatally stabbed outside a Los Angeles-area elementary school during a midday altercation had hoped to one day reach the NFL, his grieving relatives have said.
Aziel Zacapala was stabbed near Potrero School in El Monte at about 1 p.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He attended Rosemead High School, located several miles away, where he was a member of the football team.
Authorities said they learned about the fight outside the elementary school after a nearby hospital contacted law enforcement to report that three people with stab wounds, including Zacapala, had come to the emergency room for care.
Zacapala was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The two other victims, who have not been identified and were described only as adult men, were listed in stable condition, officials said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the stabbings, and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said investigators are still trying to determine whether more than one person may have been involved.
The department said the case remains under investigation and noted that, at this stage, authorities do not have a suspect description to release.
Officials have not said why Zacapala was near the elementary school, and the circumstances that sparked the fight resulting in three people being stabbed remain unclear.
A GoFundMe page created by Zacapala’s uncle to support the teen’s single mother of three with funeral costs and day-to-day expenses during her grieving period said the young athlete dreamed of “making it to the big leagues as a football player.”
Aziel Zacapala, 15, a high school football player, was fatally stabbed during a fight outside a Los Angeles area elementary school on Friday. Police have not identified a suspect
Zacapala’s uncle revealed that the student had ‘big dreams of making it to the big leagues as a football player’
The uncle, Daniel Aguilar, described Zacapala as ‘a beloved nephew, friend, son, and high school football player/great friend.’
‘Aziel was a good kid, full of promise and kindness, and he had big dreams of making it to the big leagues as a football player,’ Aguilar added.
The uncle said that less than a week before the fatal stabbing, Zacapala had been spending time at his high school’s Fourth of July event with his football friends, who referred to him by the nickname ‘AZ.’
‘His dedication to his sport and his positive spirit inspired everyone around him, and his absence leaves a deep void in our family and community,’ Aguilar said.
The teen’s death has devastated his mother, who is raising two younger siblings, including a newborn. She is also unemployed and has been doing Instacart deliveries ‘just to stay afloat,’ the uncle said.
‘As a father of three myself, I cannot begin to imagine the pain my sister is experiencing,’ he added.
Zacapala was described as ‘a beloved nephew, friend, son, and high school football player/great friend’
Zacapala had two younger siblings, including a newborn, according to his uncle. The teen is pictured with his younger siblings and a third loved one
As of Sunday morning, the GoFundMe smashed its original goal of $9,000 and has raised more than $18,000.
Zacapala was killed less than a week after another student-athlete football player was found dead in Mississippi on July 6.
In that case, 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells had gone missing on July 4th after enjoying a boating day with friends, and his body was discovered after a two-day, multiagency search.
