Miguel Tambriz Sohom, a 24-year-old Guatemalan father who moved to the United States in search of a better future for his family, has been identified as the man fatally shot near his home in Stockton, California.
The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Tambriz Sohom’s identity on Tuesday, September 1, several days after the deadly shooting.
Stockton police said officers responded at approximately 11:06 p.m. on Friday, August 28, to the 100 block of South Sierra Nevada Street following a report that someone had been shot.
They found Tambriz Sohom suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was rushed to a hospital but died from his injuries.
Behind those basic facts is the story of a young husband and father who had traveled thousands of miles from Guatemala, spent years working in California’s agricultural fields and was supporting a 4-year-old daughter.
Now his family is trying to raise enough money to return his body to Guatemala.
Shooting Happened Just Steps From His Home
Tambriz Sohom was killed near the place where he lived.
According to relatives, he had been outside his home with his cousin, Lorenzo Raymundo, when they encountered a group of men.
Raymundo has said the men surrounded them and appeared to be attempting to rob them.
He said his cousin was shot during the confrontation.
The account provides a possible explanation for what happened, but Stockton police have not publicly confirmed robbery as the official motive.
That distinction is important.
The family’s account helps investigators and the public understand the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The final determination concerning motive belongs to police.
Cousin Witnessed Miguel Tambriz Sohom Being Shot
The shooting was particularly traumatic for Raymundo because he was there.
He has described the helplessness of watching his cousin suffer a gunshot wound and being unable to save him.
Witnessing a loved one’s death creates a different type of grief.
There is the loss itself.
Then there is the memory of the violence.
For Raymundo, August 28 will not simply be the date his cousin died.
It is also a night he personally experienced.
His account may now become important as detectives attempt to identify the people involved.
Who Was Miguel Tambriz Sohom?
Miguel Tambriz Sohom was 24 years old and originally from Guatemala.
Relatives said he moved to the United States when he was approximately 17.
That means he spent much of his late teenage years and early adulthood away from the country where he was born.
Like many immigrants who leave Central America for the United States, his journey was connected to the hope of creating better economic opportunities.
By the time of his death, Tambriz Sohom was married.
He was also the father of a 4-year-old daughter.
Those details have become central to the way relatives are remembering him.
He was not simply a shooting victim.
He was a young father whose daughter must now grow up without him.
Miguel Worked as a Farmworker
Tambriz Sohom worked in agriculture in California.
Immigrant-rights activist and longtime Stockton farmworker Luis Magaña said the 24-year-old worked in cabbage fields.
It was physically demanding work.
Agricultural workers perform jobs that are fundamental to California’s economy while often remaining largely invisible to people outside farming communities.
Tambriz Sohom was part of that workforce.
He worked to support his wife and young daughter.
At an age when many people are still determining what direction their lives will take, he already had the responsibilities of a husband, father and provider.
A Better Future Brought Him From Guatemala to California
The distance between Guatemala and Stockton represents more than geography in Tambriz Sohom’s story.
He left his home country as a teenager.
The years that followed were spent building a life in California.
Relatives say he worked hard for his family.
There was a wife depending on him.
There was a young daughter.
There were also relatives who remained connected to him across borders.
That is why his death is being felt in two countries.
The crime happened in California.
The grief extends back to Guatemala.
Daughter Is Only Four Years Old
Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the family’s story concerns Tambriz Sohom’s daughter.
She is only 4.
At that age, children are still developing the memories they will carry into adulthood.
Her father should have had years ahead to watch her grow.
First days of school.
Birthdays.
Graduations.
Ordinary afternoons.
Conversations that become more meaningful as a child grows older.
Instead, his life ended at 24.
Relatives have spoken publicly about how difficult it will be for his daughter to grow up without her father.
No criminal investigation can restore those lost years.
Memorial Appears on South Sierra Nevada Street
In the days following the shooting, a memorial appeared near the location where Tambriz Sohom was attacked.
Flowers were placed at the scene.
Candles were left in his memory.
A beer can was also among the items placed with the tribute.
Small memorials like these often appear after sudden deaths.
They transform an ordinary section of pavement into a place associated with one particular life.
For strangers, the 100 block of South Sierra Nevada Street is simply an address.
For Tambriz Sohom’s relatives, it is now connected to the night their family changed forever.
Guatemalan Community Gathers After Shooting
The response extended beyond the immediate memorial.
Two days after the shooting, relatives and friends gathered for a meal.
Some traveled from other cities to be there.
Magaña described a strong turnout from members of the Guatemalan community.
That gathering illustrates the network surrounding Tambriz Sohom.
Immigrant communities frequently maintain strong connections through family, language, culture and shared experiences.
Those relationships become particularly visible following a tragedy.
People travel.
Food is prepared.
Money is collected.
Families help one another navigate circumstances they never expected to face.
For Tambriz Sohom’s loved ones, that support is now especially important.
Family Wants to Return His Body to Guatemala
One of the family’s immediate priorities is bringing Tambriz Sohom home.
Relatives are raising money to have his body returned to Guatemala.
International repatriation after a death can be expensive and complicated.
There are transportation costs.
Funeral expenses.
Documentation requirements.
Coordination between funeral providers and authorities in different countries.
A family already dealing with grief suddenly has to navigate those practical realities.
For immigrants, the question of where a loved one will be buried can carry enormous emotional significance.
Returning Tambriz Sohom to Guatemala would allow relatives there to participate in the final goodbye.
Police Have Not Confirmed Robbery Motive
Relatives believe the confrontation may have involved an attempted robbery.
Police, however, have not publicly announced a confirmed motive.
That means the two pieces of information should remain separate.
Family members can accurately describe what they believe they witnessed.
Investigators must independently establish what happened.
Detectives will likely examine witness accounts alongside physical evidence and any available surveillance footage.
If multiple people were involved, identifying each person’s role could become another important part of the investigation.
No Arrest Publicly Announced
No arrest had been publicly announced in the initial information surrounding Tambriz Sohom’s death.
That leaves his family waiting.
An unsolved homicide creates questions that can intensify grief.
Who was responsible?
Why did it happen?
Will anyone be arrested?
Will the case reach court?
Families can wait weeks, months or sometimes years for complete answers.
In this case, police are asking the public to help.
Stockton Police Ask for Information
Stockton police have urged anyone with information concerning the shooting to contact investigators.
Witness cooperation can be particularly important when several people may have been present.
Someone may recognize a description.
A resident may have heard voices before the gunfire.
A nearby camera may have captured people or vehicles.
Someone may know what happened but be reluctant to become involved.
For investigators, even a detail that seems minor can become significant when compared with other evidence.
Reward Offered for Information
A reward of up to $10,000 has reportedly been made available through Crime Stoppers for information leading to an arrest.
The reward provides another indication that investigators are actively seeking assistance from the public.
It may also encourage someone with knowledge of the shooting to speak.
An arrest, however, would only begin the criminal justice process.
Any person eventually charged would remain presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove guilt in court.
Stockton Family Wants Answers
For Tambriz Sohom’s relatives, solving the case is about more than producing an arrest statistic.
They lost someone who was building a life.
A husband is gone.
A 4-year-old girl has lost her father.
A cousin witnessed the violence.
Relatives in Guatemala are waiting for his body to return.
Those consequences continue regardless of how long the investigation takes.
A Young Immigrant’s Life Cut Short
Stories involving immigrants can easily become reduced to broad debates about migration.
Tambriz Sohom’s life was more specific than that.
He was one person.
He came to the United States as a teenager.
He worked in California’s agricultural fields.
He married.
He became a father.
He supported a daughter.
He built relationships in Stockton while maintaining connections to Guatemala.
Then, at 24, he was shot near his home.
Those facts describe a life shaped by work, family and migration long before violence brought his name into the news.
Funeral Plans Depend on Repatriation
The family’s effort to return Tambriz Sohom’s body to Guatemala means final funeral and burial arrangements may involve coordination across international borders.
Complete public arrangements had not been confirmed at the time of publication.
Any funeral, viewing, burial or memorial details should therefore come from his family or the funeral provider assisting them.
The repatriation effort itself has become part of the family’s mourning process.
They are trying to fulfill what they believe is the appropriate final journey for someone who left Guatemala years earlier in search of opportunity.
Remembering Miguel Tambriz Sohom Beyond His Death
The location of a homicide can become attached permanently to a victim’s name online.
“Miguel Tambriz Sohom shooting.”
“Stockton shooting victim.”
“South Sierra Nevada Street homicide.”
Those phrases help people find information about what happened.
But they describe only the final minutes of his life.
His family remembers considerably more.
They remember a teenager who left Guatemala.
A worker in California’s fields.
A husband.
A father.
A cousin.
A member of a community that gathered after his death because he mattered to them.
Those are the parts of his story that should remain alongside the investigation.
Investigation Continues as Family Mourns
Stockton detectives still have work ahead.
The family still has questions.
The people responsible, if the relatives’ account of multiple attackers is confirmed, have not yet been publicly identified.
For now, the most concrete facts center on the victim.
Miguel Tambriz Sohom was 24 years old.
He was from Guatemala.
He moved to the United States as a teenager.
He worked in agriculture.
He had a wife.
He had a 4-year-old daughter.
He was shot near his Stockton home on August 28.
He died at a hospital.
And his family is now trying to return his body to the country where his journey began.
The police investigation may eventually explain why his life ended.
For his daughter, however, no explanation can replace the father she has lost.
Disclaimer
This article is based on information released by law enforcement, the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office, statements from relatives and verified reporting available at the time of publication.
Relatives of Miguel Tambriz Sohom have described the circumstances as an apparent robbery attempt involving multiple men. Stockton police had not publicly confirmed robbery as the official motive in the information reviewed for this article. The investigation remains active, and no individual should be identified or treated as responsible for Tambriz Sohom’s death unless supported by official investigative findings.
Any person eventually arrested or charged would be presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Funeral, repatriation, family and additional biographical information should be confirmed through Tambriz Sohom’s relatives or authorized representatives. This article may be updated as additional verified information becomes available.