Felicito Canales, a 51-year-old Hispanic male, tragically lost his life on the evening of Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Born in El Salvador on May 2, 1965, Canales had immigrated to the United States to escape the civil war in his home country, seeking a more peaceful and productive life. He established himself in Louisiana, where he built a roofing business from the ground up and was known as an honest and fair contractor.
His generosity was notable, as he once replaced a roof for an elderly woman who had been scammed by fraudulent roofers, doing so at his own expense because he felt it was the right thing to do.
On the night of his death, Canales was walking home from a convenience store near his house when he encountered a crime in progress. He intervened in an assault on a woman by several men, an act which allowed the woman to escape and contact the police. In the course of this heroic act, he was shot multiple times and died at the scene in an open field behind the Raceway Gas Station on Airline Highway. The Baton Rouge Police Department described him as a 'true victim.'
The investigation into the murder of Felicito Canales was initiated by the Baton Rouge Police Department. At the time of the initial reports, the motive for the shooting and any potential suspects were unknown. Law enforcement officials urged anyone with information to come forward to assist in the investigation. Despite the passage of time, publicly available information has not indicated that any arrests have been made in connection with his death. The case remains an unsolved tragedy, marking a violent end to the life of a man who had fled violence in his homeland only to become a victim of it in his adopted country.
