The family of an unarmed 18-year-old who was shot by an LAPD officer announced a lawsuit against the police and the city of Los Angeles.

Ricardo Ramirez Jr. of the Bay Area was shot and killed by a vice sergeant around 10:30 p.m. on July 13.

His family said he had just graduated from high school and was on vacation with friends in Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, his family and friends gathered outside the LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to demand justice.

“The best brother, so young,” Larissa Ramirez said of her younger brother. “He was so nice. So funny.”

The family’s attorney said Ramirez was riding with three other men in a silver Cadillac near the Figueroa Corridor when they noticed a dark, unmarked vehicle with tinted windows following them.

After stopping, Ramirez and another passenger got out of the car with their palms raised and asked why they were being followed. That’s when Ramirez was shot in the chest.

“The shot came from inside the car, through glass. That means Ricky didn’t even have a chance to see anyone in the car pointing a gun at him, let alone someone he would have identified as a police officer,” said Christopher Dolan, founder and general counsel of the Dolan Law Firm, which is representing the family.

A press release from the LAPD states that plainclothes vice squad officers were cracking down on prostitution in the area. No firearms or other weapons were found during the investigation, they say.

Ricky’s family said they will file a lawsuit against the city, the police department and the officer involved in the shooting.

“I just buried my son a day ago. It was the hardest thing a mother can ever do,” said Renee Villalobos, Ramirez’s mother. “And knowing that he died for no reason doesn’t make sense. It’s not fair.”

“In real life, you never expect to get a call and hear this news,” said his father, Ricardo Ramirez Sr. “As my wife said, he was only 18 years old. His journey had just begun and that was taken away from us.”

The LAPD says officers from the Force Investigation Division and representatives from the California Department of Justice are investigating this incident.