INGLEWOOD — Police are appealing for any information on the killing of a man who was gunned down in broad daylight on his way to work last week.

But a description of the suspects, as multiple Black males, has fallen under scrutiny by some in the community. Some have reported that three Latino men in a car were harassing Black youths down the block just prior to the slaying.

On Friday night, family, friends, community peacemakers, clergy and city officials gathered for an emotional candlelight vigil in the 800 block of Beach Avenue, following the slaying of 21-year-old Ivy “Tyrone” Koger one day earlier.

Pastor K. Donnell Smith, a gang intervention specialist at Chosen Temple Christian Church, called for unity in the face of tragedy. “We can come together as a community,” he said. “We don’t have to wait until we lose one.”

According to an Inglewood Police Department statement released hours after the incident, officers were dispatched to the location and found Koger sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

He was suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head. The release said that Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics quickly arrived, but Koger was pronounced dead at the scene.

In their preliminary investigation, police revealed that Koger was preparing to leave his vehicle when a white or silver Toyota pulled up next to him, “occupied by 2-3 male Black suspects.”

“There was an exchange of words, after which time, one of the suspects fired several gunshots at the victim, striking him,” reads the report. “After the incident, the suspect vehicle continued south on Beach Avenue out of sight. Although the investigation is still ongoing, the motive for the shooting appears to be gang related.”

Following Friday’s vigil — attended by council members Judy Dunlap, in whose Second District the killing occurred, and Danny Tabor — one outraged activist called a reporter to dispute the police statement. “There were no Black male suspects, he was killed by Latino gang members,” said the activist.

Another source, a gang diversion worker in South Los Angeles, concurred cautiously that “the community saw it differently.”

“People have said that just three minutes earlier a car with three Latino males was harassing youths just down the block,” said the diversion worker. “And the car literally just drove down the street and saw Tyrone and got him.”

During the vigil, The Wave spoke briefly with 20-year-old Korisha Hamblet, who revealed that she was Koger’s fianceé and had witnessed the murder.

“We were coming downstairs for him to go to work and a car pulled up on the side of him and asked him if he gang-banged,” said Hamblet, who said she and Koger had been a couple since they were both 17. “He told them no and they just shot him. I screamed, but they just shot him.”

Shaking with emotion, Hamblet said that Koger worked in cargo at Los Angeles International Airport and was a good father to their daughter. She said he also leaves behind a mother, father and younger sister.

When The Wave asked Hamblet if she was able to see the shooters, she signaled that she was too distressed to discuss the incident any further.

Sgt. Marie Kirk, an IPD homicide supervisor, offered the department’s condolences and repeated the findings of its preliminary investigation.

“As of yesterday, we’re following up from witnesses that our suspects are two to three male Blacks in a white/silver Toyota 4-door. We’re asking for information from the community, no matter how minute so we can resolve this and bring whoever to justice.”

Kirk did not return a call at press time seeking information about possible Latino suspects and who specifically provided the initial witness information.

“We need to do whatever we can as a community to prevent these tragedies,” said Dunlap. “When you listen to the mothers and the young wives, its heartbreaking. We have to put a stop to it and find solutions to these problems. When young people can just be in the neighborhood and gunned down, it’s tragic.”