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The story of an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan only to be gunned down at a homecoming party turns out to not be entirely true.The actual story is still tragic: Francisco Garcia, 21, was gunned down this weekend after a party in Sylmar. But military officials say that though Garcia had enlisted in the Army, he had never served overseas, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Garcia enlisted in the Army in June 2012 and went through six months of basic training before being stationed at Fort Drum, a spokesperson with the military reservation told CBS. He was discharged this past July. He worked as a cannon crew member, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Initially, LAPD told media outlets this weekend that Garcia had been shot at a homecoming party thrown by his girlfriend. LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon told the Times that they didn't vet the story about Garcia's military service because it didn't seem to have much bearing on the crime or investigation. But the story of someone surviving the battlefield only to be killed at home seemed only too cruel. (Not that it hasn't happened recently.)
Vincent Estrada, 18, was arrested in the case yesterday, according to the Times.
Police say Garcia was with a group that had been partying when they decided to move to another location. Two cars pulled up to the group. One man in the cars got out, smashed a beer bottle and yelled at Garcia. The two apparently had a dispute from a previous confrontation that predated the party. A man police say is Estrada allegedly walked to the other vehicle, got a handgun and began shooting at Garcia.
Police told CBS they suspect Garcia was caught in a feud between two rival tagging groups.
