(L.A.) Victor McElhaney, 21, Died in a Hospital

Case Number: 2019-01993

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 21-year-old Black male that occurred in a hospital.

The coroner’s office identified the young man as Victor McElhaney.

Manner of Death: Homicide

Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound of Head

RIP VICTOR MCELHANEY (April 13, 1997 – March 10, 2019)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Sunday at 3:12 a.m.

The decedent was a USC jazz student who was killed during an attempted robbery just blocks from the university campus. Notably, his mother was a member of the Oakland City Council at the time of his death.

His assailant was Ivan Hernandez who in 2025 pleaded no contest to first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 35 years to life in state prison.

McElhaney was shot just after midnight near Maple Avenue and Adams Boulevard. He died hours later at a hospital.

The victim, who was a student at USC’s Thornton School of Music, was with a group of friends when they were approached by three or four men in their 20s during an attempted robbery that led to the shooting.