Juan Sanchez, an Inglewood, California resident, was heading to work when he heard suspicious sounds coming from his neighbor’s property. When he walked over to check it out, he saw a masked man climb out of a golden early 2000s Toyota Camry sliding under his neighbor’s Prius.

He quickly realized the stranger was trying to steal the car’s catalytic converter, so he confronted the thief. His neighbor’s Ring camera captured Sanchez saying, “Hey, hey, hey!” and approaching the man before he opened fire, shooting Sanchez twice and killing him.

The thief climbed into the getaway car and drove away, leaving Sanchez on the sidewalk. His sister, Susana, said Sanchez’s wife recently overcame cancer and had recently been promoted at work—something he was very excited about.

“It’s been a very difficult time trying to understand how somebody could do this to another human being,” she told ABC7. “It’s unfair that his family has to go through this.”

Police want help catching the catalytic converter thieves

Sanchez was survived by two children, his wife, and one grandchild. Police are still looking for the suspects and are asking the public for any leads.

Catalytic converter thefts are, unfortunately, on the rise, as thieves can easily remove the part in minutes with a battery-powered saw. The part is untracable and full of precious metals that fetch a pretty penny on the black market.

The most tragic part is how much it costs the victim to replace a catalytic converter once it’s gone. Depending on the car and how it fits on the exhaust system, welding it on can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. If the entire exhaust system has to be replaced, it’s even more expensive.

In California, it’s illegal to drive without the emissions-specific part, putting victims further behind the 8 ball.

Viewers who knew Sanchez were devastated

Sanchez’s influence reached the outlet’s viewers on YouTube, who took a moment to say a few words.

“Juan was a former coworker of mine,” they wrote. “He was a good man and a hard worker. My condolences to his family.”

Another said his death came way too soon, as he was just trying to do the right thing by keeping thieves from taking the catalytic converter.

“He wasn’t killed for getting up and going to work, he was killed for standing up for his neighbor,” their comment read.

Another said he might have been saved if he wasn’t such a good employee.

“That’s wild. He wanted to get to work early and gets killed for it. If he had been a slacker, he would still be alive. It’s a shame how the world turns sometimes.”