PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Friends and loved ones describe Raymond De La Cerda as a big guy with a big heart. “He would go help anybody,” said De La Cerda’s mother, Irene Briggs. “If somebody was on the side of road, he’d stop and help that was him.”

De La Cerda, 46, was shot and killed this summer while out on a fast food run. “What kind of people are driving around with an assault rifle, willing to just use it?” asked Briggs.

According to Phoenix police, on July 25, De La Cerda was driving on McDowell Road around 11 p.m. when he was followed into a parking lot by a white four-door sedan near 24th Street. A gunman in the white sedan reportedly rolled down the window, opened fire, then drove off. De La Cerda was hit several times. Investigators believe De La Cerda tried to drive away as he was shot but ended up driving his truck into a tree. He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. “I can’t imagine what he could possibly have done that warrants that, but in their mind, what little did it take in their mind for them to decide it warranted killing him,” said Briggs.

No information about a suspect is available at this time, but police have released a possible photo of the getaway vehicle. Phoenix police do not believe the suspects knew the victim, with the incident possibly stemming from some kind of road rage.

Briggs is hoping that someone will come forward with information, and they’ll catch her son’s killers. “People do not realize there’s someone out there driving around that is in possession of an assault rifle, and just as easily as they used it on my son, they will use it on your loved one just as easy,” said Briggs.

Silent Witness is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. You can contact Silent Witness at (480) 948-6377. Spanish speakers can call (480) 837-8446. You can also leave an anonymous tip on their website at silentwitness.org.

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