CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dominique "L.A." Guidry thought he was going to graduate from West Virginia State University last spring.

He needed one more class, which wasn't offered until the fall.

So the communications major from California stuck around West Virginia this summer, waiting to take his last class.

Guidry's graduation plans were cut short when he was killed in a shooting early Aug. 1 in front of Crossroads Village Apartments on 40th Street in Nitro.

"Supposedly, it's a case of mistaken identity," said Cassey Santana, Guidry's aunt in California. "A friend of his called the night it happened, within an hour."

Guidry had gone with some friends to Huntington that night, she said.

"I don't know what took place there," she said.

When he came back, around 4:30 a.m., there was someone in the apartment complex waiting for him, she said.

"When Dominique was going to his location, that's when the shooters jumped," she said.

Police said neighbors reported hearing a series of shots. Several bullet holes were found in the side of the vehicle Guidry was believed to have been riding in. The back window was shattered.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dominique "L.A." Guidry thought he was going to graduate from West Virginia State University last spring.

He needed one more class, which wasn't offered until the fall.

So the communications major from California stuck around West Virginia this summer, waiting to take his last class.

Guidry's graduation plans were cut short when he was killed in a shooting early Aug. 1 in front of Crossroads Village Apartments on 40th Street in Nitro.

"Supposedly, it's a case of mistaken identity," said Cassey Santana, Guidry's aunt in California. "A friend of his called the night it happened, within an hour."

Guidry had gone with some friends to Huntington that night, she said.

"I don't know what took place there," she said.

When he came back, around 4:30 a.m., there was someone in the apartment complex waiting for him, she said.

"When Dominique was going to his location, that's when the shooters jumped," she said.

Police said neighbors reported hearing a series of shots. Several bullet holes were found in the side of the vehicle Guidry was believed to have been riding in. The back window was shattered.

Guidry was pronounced dead at the scene.

Santana said she spent two weeks in West Virginia, preparing to send Guidry back to California.

"I raised him, me and his father, Salvadore Guidry," she said.

Now she just wants to find out what happened to her nephew and find a way to pay for moving his body from West Virginia to California. The family has set up a trust fund at City National Bank, she said.

According to a statement from the Nitro Police Department late last week, several people have been interviewed and physical evidence in the case has been taken to the West Virginia State Police forensics lab for analysis.

"Due to the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation, many details cannot be released to the public," the statement reads.

Nitro police Detective D.A. Scurlock, who is assigned to the Kanawha Bureau of Investigation, said anyone with information about the case should call the authorities.

"We're looking for anyone that has information regarding this case to give us a call. We'd like to speak with them and will maintain their confidentiality," he said.

The Kanawha Bureau of Investigation can be reached at 304-357-0200, and the Nitro Police Department may be reached at 304-755-0777.

Reach Gary Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5163.