$50K Reward Offered To Find Road Rage Shooter Who Killed A Child

ORANGE, CA — A $50,000 reward was offered on Sunday to help identify the person who killed 6-year-old Aiden Leos in a "road rage" shooting on the Costa Mesa Freeway in Orange last week.

A relative of the child posted the reward offer on GoFundMe Sunday, in a separate crowdfunding page that was previously set up for the family. As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, that effort had raised $168,110, with more than 3,400 donors.

"First we want to say [thank you for the tremendous amount of love, prayer and donations] for the mother, father and sister of Aiden Leo’s," Christin Corona wrote on the GoFundMe page. "He was taken from them in such a traumatic way."

That page had raised about $1,000 just a few hours after launching.

"As a distant family member, I am trying to set up a REWARD of $50,000 for whoever helps in the arrest of these murderers!" Corona wrote. "We will have this reward either way but if you feel led to donate to this, we appreciate your help."

Aiden's mother was driving a silver Chevrolet Cruze sedan with her son in a booster seat in the right rear passenger seat when another driver opened fire between 7:55 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. Friday on the northbound 55 between the Garden Grove (22) Freeway and Chapman Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer John De Matteo said.

It is unknown how many rounds were fired and the only description of the suspect's vehicle is a white sedan, DeMatteo said. Later, investigators said the vehicle may be a newer model, possibly a white Volkswagen "wagon-style" sedan.

"We can not let these murders get away with this. We NEED justice for AIDEN!!" Corona wrote.

The boy's mother, Joanna Cloonan, gathered with family members on Saturday around a burgeoning memorial site along the Walnut Avenue overpass, near where the shooting happened. Community members and friends have adorned the site with balloons, candles and flowers for Aiden.

"This is not okay...Whoever these people are and for whatever reason, this is not okay. It should never happen again. So whatever help this does, that's my intention, is for my son," Cloonan told ABC7 on Saturday.

Cloonan was driving Aiden to kindergarten on Friday when someone opened fired at her vehicle from behind.

Investigators have not provided additional details of the incident but assured the public it was not related to the rash of suspected pellet-gun shootings of vehicles on Southland freeways.

"It was an isolated road rage incident between the mom and another driver from a white sedan," CHP Officer Florentino Olivera said at the scene. "Not sure if there were passengers in that white sedan, but apparently there was a shot fired from that sedan into the silver car, and unfortunately the child that was seated in the right rear seat was struck."

The CHP asked anyone who may have dashboard camera footage of the attack to contact investigators.

Relatives said Aiden's death has devastated the family.

"My mom, there was a road-rage on the freeway, and someone pulled out a gun and shot my little brother in the stomach," the boy's 15-year-old sister, Alexis Cloonan, told reporters.

Alexis said there were two people in the suspect vehicle — a female driver and a male passenger.

"He was only 6, and he was so sweet," Alexis said through tears. "He was a very, very loving boy. So please, help us find who did this to him."

The boy's uncle, John Cloonan, said the family wanted to speak out so the shooter "can see what you've done to this family."

Aiden's mother "was merging to the right side to get away from this person," he said. "And as you can see, if you go online and look at the photos, there's one bullet shot in the trunk that went through the trunk and right through my nephew. So you tell it was a cowardly way of doing it, because they shot her in the back."

Reyes Valdivia told the Los Angeles Times that he and his wife had just dropped their children off at school when they spotted a woman on the freeway shoulder pulling a child out from the passenger side of the car. He said the woman "was hysterical" and told him she was fired on while driving her son to school in the carpool lane.

Valdivia said the victim said that when she tried to switch lanes to exit, a white sedan with a man and woman inside cut her off and she gestured to them and proceeded into the exit lane, which is when the bullet entered the left side of trunk and "went through the boy's back."

"She heard her child scream and immediately stopped," he said.

Aiden's mother pulled over immediately and called 911 and the boy was rushed to Children's Hospital of Orange County, where he was pronounced dead, DeMatteo said.

The CHP closed the northbound side of the freeway for several hours to investigate.

Olivera said investigators are hoping to hear from witnesses, especially those whose vehicles are equipped with a dash cam camera.

"Even if you think it wasn't anything big, call us," he said. "We'd like to hear from you."

Anyone with information that may be helpful to investigators is asked to call CHP Officer Kevin Futrell at 714-567-6000.

The City News Service contributed to this report.

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.

READ MORE: Child Shot, Killed In Road Rage Shooting In Orange County