Marine veteran Aaron Orozco killed during Uber carjacking in California

A California Marine Corps veteran and father of two was shot and killed while driving for Uber on Friday morning.

Aaron Orozco, 38, was driving for the rideshare company when he got into a “physical altercation” with two of his passengers at a 7-Eleven parking lot in Lynwood, according to Los Angeles police.

During the altercation, one of the suspects shot the veteran before fleeing the scene in the victim’s Honda Accord.

Police said the driver, later identified by family as Orozco, suffered a gunshot wound to the upper torso while the suspects remain at large as of early Sunday.

The vehicle was found abandoned a short distance away from the shooting, according to authorities.

“It just seems like I’m in a nightmare. It doesn’t seem real to me,” Sandra Medina, Orozco’s wife, told Fox 11. “I haven’t even told my kids yet, they still think dad is going to come through the door.”

Orozco leaves behind his wife of 10 years, a 9-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.

He had been driving for Uber for four years and began driving at night to take care of the couple’s two children while Medina worked as a nurse, according to the outlet.

“Our hearts are with Mr. Orozco Figueroa’s family as they cope with this unfathomable tragedy, and we have reached out to offer our condolences,” Uber said in a statement to Fox11. “We banned the rider’s account and are working with police on their investigation.”

Before driving for Uber, Orozco served in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Camp Pendleton from 2001-2005. 

Orozco had been on three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan during his four years of service and was a combat veteran.

“I just really hope that they find [the suspects] because … they created this chaos in my life, in my family’s life and now … I don’t have my husband with me and it’s just changed my life around, so I really hope that they do catch them,” Medina told ABC7.

Car theft in 2022 spiked 4.3% higher than in 2021 in Los Angeles County, jumping a concerning 61.5% higher since 2019, according to LAPD data.