Aug. 24, 2015 [RE-BROADCAST OF 6/13/2011]

Some people call 18-year-old Brandon Gongora a hero, but his self-sacrificing final act didn’t surprise anyone that knew him.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Darren Birch said it was Monday night, May 9, when Gongora and his cousin were playing basketball at the Trailside Point Park in the area of 71st Avenue and Vineyard, which is between Southern Avenue and Baseline Road.

“As he is playing basketball, he notices a fight erupting in the area,” Birch said.

Gongora’s aunt, Lisa Gammage, said Gongora jumped into action when shots were fired.

“He was actually the one who notified my son to run, as well as everybody else,” she said. “Moving kids out of the way. Because it was a full park, there were a lot of people that night. So he was actually moving people out of the area, warning everybody that there was shooting. That’s the type of person he was. He always thought about others before himself.”

Witnesses said Gongora was trying to get to a child on the swing sets when he was caught in the crossfire and killed.

“He was truly a victim — at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Birch said. “The reason for the shooting, we don’t know. But we do know there was a lot of witnesses at that park at the time of the shooting. Somebody must know something.”

“Brandon was really family-oriented,” Gammage said. “He didn’t hang out at house parties or clubs or do any of that. He was very close-knit and close to family… He basically just did school, family and basketball.”

She said Gongora had plans to go into banking.

“He saved other lives as well as my son’s and in the process he lost his own life,” she said.

Birch said police are looking for “a male shooter” who left the park in a red PT Cruiser.

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