The Antelope Valley Times

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Memorial fund established for man shot to death

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Erik Ungerman
Erik Ungerman

LANCASTER – An online memorial fund has been established for the 34-year-old man shot to death at a Lancaster stoplight Sunday night (Jan. 19).

Erik Ungerman was driving west on Avenue K, and was stopped at the red light at 20th Street West, when a gunman pulled alongside him and shot several rounds into Ungerman’s vehicle, officials said.

Ungerman's car came to rest in the Albertson's Shopping Center. (ED FROMMER)
Ungerman’s car came to rest in the Albertson’s Shopping Center. (ED FROMMER)

As Ungerman drove through the intersection, the shooter fired several more times, and Ungerman was hit multiple times in the upper torso and pronounced dead at the scene. Read more here.

The suspected shooter, Ungerman’s best friend Jeremy Whitman, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday morning, sheriff’s officials said. Read more here.

Erik Ungerman, a local DirecTV technician, was a holy man who was passionate about helping others, according to his friends and coworkers.

“His smile was contagious and his glowing dimples would bring a smile to anyone’s face,” organizers of Ungerman’s memorial fund wrote.

Family members and loved ones are raising funds to cover the portion of Ungerman’s memorial and burial the life insurance policy doesn’t cover.

To donate to this effort, visit https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/wpv3/erik-ungerman-memorial.

Previous related stories:

UPDATED: Victim, suspect ID’d in fatal car-to-car shooting

Man killed in car-to-car shooting in Lancaster

21 comments for "Memorial fund established for man shot to death"

  2. People, this is for Erik’ s memorial, not to argue about the bible. You are just making it harder for his family, so knock it off! If you can’t say nice things about him, then go rant on the other site.

    • Yogi, agree with what you say. To me, Erik was the VICTIM and should be remembered as such. Very little if anything is said about the daughter and family leaves behind. This is about Erik, so my condolences to Erik and his family. RIP.

      Please people, go to the donation site. Give a little or a lot. But as a community, rally round the Ungerman family. They need our support and help in this difficult time.

  3. Why was this murder commuted? Was it over money, love or did one off them just knew too much info on the other that it didn’t want no one else to know? Why why why?

  4. I guess from Pastor Paul Chappel’s blog, it says that the LBC is paying for all of Jeremy Whitman’s burial costs. Maybe they should spare a buck or two to the guy he shot and his family. Or would that somehow implicate the church in wrongdoing? Something the lawyers might find out about? We can’t have that! It’s a sad day when possible legal challenges prohibit churches from doing the right thing because they’re scared it might hurt “the Church.” Something is sadly wrong with Christianity today.

    • My sentiments exactly! Not once was Erik Ungerman’s name mentioned in Pastor Chappell’s blog.

      • Actually, it was: “Please continue to pray for Jeremy’s family as well as the Ungerman family in their time of loss. Thank you for your prayers.”.

    • First of all, the church had nothing to do with the murder of Erik Ungerman. Jeremy Whitman did it by his own choosing. Blaming the church simply because Jeremy went there for some time would be like blaming Starbucks because he frequented their establishment (or some other) throughout his lifetime. How did the church (a group of believers) commit a wrongdoing? How can a group of people answer for the actions of another? Hospitals, police departments, businesses, etc. cannot be fully responsible for what those who are employed there may do. You hope that what is done is right and just by those employed, but as we all know, that is not how it always works. I am sure that all of us here have done something against policy at work that others know about. Would it make sense for your co-workers to blame your boss for it or you, for your lack of compliance? What has been posted here just doesn’t make complete sense.

      I do not condone what Jeremy did in any way, shape, or form, but some of what has been written has been more out of emotion (and I am not downplaying emotion, there is a time/place for it), rather than calm thoughtfulness from a clear mind. More time must pass for this to take place for many who have written here. The hate being shown toward Jeremy Whitman is really no different than the hate he had toward Erik that night. Hate will not bring back anybody and it will not help us grieve properly.

      Secondly, the blog was written about Jeremy Whitman because Chappell KNEW him. I do not know how much he knew Erik Ungerman, or if he knew him at all. One can only recall memories of those he/she may know. It does not mean that the writer is neglecting the other person on purpose, it just means that the person being discussed is the person who is being remembered. And you can’t do that about one you have no relationship with. Think of all of the thoughts you may have had about Erik the past few days. It wasn’t wrong for you to not mention Jeremy in your conversations or thoughts. Nor would it be wrong by another, to convey memories of the other person involved in this tragedy.

      Thirdly, you must remember that a church is made up of people. It is not simply the buildings that comprise a church. Could it possibly be that the church family wants to be a help to Whitman’s wife, who had nothing to do with this? A widow now with 5 children left to raise on her own. I am not underestimating the need for assistance for funeral expenses for Erik’s family. I don’t have a problem with that at all and I think it was a tremendous idea to start a fund to help offset the costs of a funeral for Erik’s family. Friends and family will contribute to that fund just as friends and family will help with the cost of a funeral for Jeremy Whitman. Both men were loved and many from both sides of this tragic event will come to remember and help the family of the one they knew and cared for.

      Two much loved men were tragically lost this past week. None of us know the reason(s) why this happened. To speculate simply makes any of us who try to do so fools. To blame a church, a pastor, a friend, or even a loved one for simply knowing one or both of these men, is simply ignorant.

      In response to the original poster, what is truly sad and wrong with Christianity is that this event has not driven many Christians back to the Bible and to prayer, to love and to help heal, but to their computer screens to ask questions to those who do not know. Why do they not go to the One they say they believe in? That is what makes it a sad description of Christianity.

      I have been praying for the Ungerman family just as much as I have for the Whitman family. They both need it in such a difficult time as this. It would be in everyone’s best interest to rather than write a hateful message here, to pray or at least remember, those who were forever taken from us. Also consider the families/friends of both men. I know that I have, and my thoughts have been just as lost for understanding as everybody else’s. What a terrible week this has been for many that knew both Erik Ungerman and Jeremy Whitman.

        • You know hat happened red!! “This story is deep. The church IS involved.” Please, do tell. What happened? Lets put this church on blast! Do you have any pictures?

    • I agree that the Lancaster Baptist Church should pay for the victim as well. They do have a benevolent fund and have a whole lot of money to spare. Why only pay for Whitman’s burial costs? This is not right in so many ways.

    • Why not place the blame where it lies? With the person who murdered another person? Sorry, I believe in personal responsibility and not blaming some demon. If that were true, we should release all criminals since Satan made them do it.

          • see yogi’s comment above. If you don’t agree, or believe in what someone else does, then just wish your sentiments another way… “good luck,” or “may the stars align in your favor,” or whatever it is you believe. Save the opinions (arguing) for a more appropriate thread.