The family of Abel Gurrola, the man who died after being shot by police New Year's Day, is trying to keep his spirit and memory alive.
Gurrola was declared brain dead after he was shot, right after the start of the new year. In their grief, his family made the decision to donate his organs.
26-year-old Abel Gurrola was shot when police responded to a call of shots fired near some apartments on Terrace Way in south Bakersfield.
Gabriel Gurrola says he and his brother fired about six shots to ring in 2013. Police say officers saw Abel Gurrola holding a rifle and when he refused to put it down, they shot Gurrola.
His family says Abel was a family man who loved his kids.
"He was there with his kids. He built a low rider bike with his kids. He spent time with his kids, you know. His kids needed something he went and got it. They needed shoes, he went and got the shoes. They needed diapers, he went and got them diapers," said Gabriel Gurrola.
Officers were back at the shooting scene Thursday trying to recreate the events that led to Abel Gurrola's death.
The officers involved are on paid administrative leave.
Abel Gurrola's family says seven people in Kern County are in the process of receiving his organs, including a 7-year-old Bakersfield boy, who will get a new heart.
