ORANGE (CBSLA) – A 6-year-old boy who was killed during a freeway road rage shooting last month will get a special plaque in his honor at the Orange County Zoo, officials announced Thursday.
An undated photo of 6-year-old Aiden Leos, who was killed in a road rage shooting on the 55 Freeway in the city of Orange on May 21, 2021. (Credit: Leos family)
The plaque, when its complete, will be placed in the zoo’s new Large Mammal Exhibit, which is still under construction, Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner said in a news release.
A briefing to announce the dedication plans will be held at the zoo Monday morning, with Aiden’s family in attendance. Wagner said Aiden loved to visit parks with his parents.
On the morning of May 21, Aiden was in a booster seat in the back of his mother’s Chevrolet Sonic, on his way to kindergarten in Yorba Linda, when the shooting incident occurred on the northbound 55 Freeway in the city of Orange.
Joanna Cloonan, Aiden’s mother, was involved in a road rage incident with the occupants of a white Volkswagen station wagon over a perceived unsafe lane change, according to California Highway Patrol.
The suspects, 24-year-old Marcus Anthony Eriz and his girlfriend, 23-year-old Wynne Lee, were arrested outside their Costa Mesa apartment on June 6. Investigators believe Lee was driving the car that was involved in the road rage incident, while Eriz was in the front passenger seat and committed the shooting itself.
Eriz has been charged with murder, while Lee has been charged with being an accessory after the fact.
The small 8-acre Orange County Zoo is located within Irvine Regional Park in the city of Orange.
