CA Teen Essien Edokpayi ID’d As Vacaville Christmas Eve Shooting Victim

VACAVILLE, CA. (THECOUNT) — Essien Edokpayi has been identified as the teenager shot and killed Christmas Eve in Vacaville, California.

Daignet Montoya, 39, was arrested in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Edokpayi. He remains in Solano County Jail on suspicion of murder.

Police say, Montoya, of Vacaville, was seated in a vehicle when he engaged in a verbal altercation with four or five people gathered outside after 12 a.m. in the 300 block of Bel Air Drive.

Montoya reportedly retrieved a handgun at a nearby apartment and returned to the scene of the altercation. Someone in the group threw a bottle in Montoya’s direction and he fired a single shot, fatally striking Edokpayi.

A verbal volley ensued, Montoya reportedly went to his apartment and returned with a firearm, a bottle was thrown in his direction and he fired a single gunshot, striking Essien in the chest, police said. source

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with possible information may contact police at 911.

Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately 35 miles from Sacramento and 55 miles from San Francisco, it is part of the San Francisco Bay Area but also considered, at least by some agencies, to be part of the Sacramento Valley, source Wikipedia.