Jim Hirsch’s father says his son was clean, had a steady job, a girlfriend and an apartment. Then came the crushing heartache. “Just when he’s doing well someone shoots him,” Jim Hirsch said. Around 4:18 a.m. Monday, a masked gunman fatally shot Hirs, 40, inside a 7-Eleven store at Lambert Street and N. Brea Avenue during a robbery. Hirsch worked as a clerk there. RELATED: Suspect Wanted 2 Killed in SoCal 7-Eleven Robberies “I thought my son was probably going to die of an overdose. But no,” Jim Hirsch said. “When things are bright, he is gone. He has not begun to live.” Authorities say it was one of several robberies by the same man at 7-Eleven stores in Southern California on Monday. Investigators aren’t sure what led to Hirsch’s death in Brea or what sparked the robberies in Ontario, Upland, Riverside, Santa Ana and La Habra. Police are still searching for the gunman behind the violent rampage. Investigators have linked the suspect — who was captured on multiple surveillance cameras wearing the same distinctive sweatshirt — to six robberies that left two dead and three others injured. Hirsch was shot to death after authorities believe the gunman earlier seriously wounded a customer in Riverside and then fatally shot Matthew Rule, 24, outside a Santa Ana store. After those three shootings, the suspect then shot two people at a store in La Habra before disappearing. Jim Hirsch says that even though his son’s face was covered in tattoos and his past was full of struggle, his son cared and Matthew was excited to finally get his life in order. Matthew’s girlfriend, Kristen Ewan, shared similar memories with Eyewitness News the night of the shooting. “She’s like the most caring and compassionate person and you just wouldn’t expect that from someone who looks like she did,” Ewan said. Matthew’s father says someone knows the man caught on video. “This is someone’s neighbor that allows this to happen,” Jim Hirsch said. “They know him. I think the police know him too.” Hirsch said he has yet to see his son’s body as of Tuesday afternoon. He was still waiting to hear from the coroner. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Matthew Hirsch’s family. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
