A knock, three shots and a mysterious slaying in Winnetka The killing of a popular 17-year-old high school student began with a knock at his west San Fernando Valley front door. A girl with red hair had come calling. Francisco Rodriguez Jr. talked to the girl briefly in the doorway Wednesday evening, out of earshot of his mother and his older sister, who said she had never seen the girl before. Turning back into the house for a moment, he told them he was going outside. Francisco seemed afraid, his sister, Jessica Rodriguez, 23, said Thursday morning, explaining the sequence of events with her hand covering her face, crying. "He gave me a look, a scared look, like he knew something was going to happen," she said. Francisco walked into the frontyard of the Winnetka home. Moments later, his sister said, she heard three gunshots. The next thing she remembers seeing is her brother lying motionless, facedown on the lawn. A dark-colored SUV was parked outside the house when she ran outside, and Rodriguez said she saw people in the vehicle who she believes fired the shots. She didn't see the girl who had come to the door, and the car sped away. Shattered glass was on the curb. Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Richard French said detectives had not identified a motive or suspects as of Thursday afternoon. Rodriguez was left wondering why her only brother was the target of an attack. She and her cousin Marco Garcia created a memorial Thursday morning for the teenager they affectionately called "Panchito." The pair placed five candles on the edge of the front lawn. Behind the row of candles, Rodriguez tucked a single bouquet of pink and white flowers. Then she slowly made her way to the front door. She didn't look back. "Someone," she said, "has to know something. His friends, someone, has to come forward. Word spread quickly at El Camino Real Charter High School and grief counselors were made available to help students and staffers Thursday morning. Many students said they heard about the slaying on Facebook. But no one said they knew what provoked the killing. On their way into class on the Woodland Hills campus, students described Francisco, a senior who played goalie on the soccer team, as popular, flirtatious and prone to goofing around when the teacher wasn't watching. "He set out to make people laugh," said Julien Biwer, 17, who was in his English class. "I really looked up to him," added Spencer Smith, 16, a soccer teammate. He was a mentor to me. Investigators said Francisco did not appear to be affiliated with a gang. El Camino Principal Dave Fehte said the school is cooperating with LAPD detectives, but he said he had "no concern" about any potential suspects within the student body. He also said he was unaware of gang activity on campus. "Francisco had a lot of friends outside of school," Fehte said, "and we know the people who know him here." El Camino is among the highest-performing high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 3,500-student campus has an Academic Performance Index score of 805, among the highest, and boasts six national Academic Decathlon titles. Assistant Principal Bette Marcoux called the campus atmosphere Thursday "very somber." "It's never been this quiet," she said. Police arrived at the house in the 6900 block of Cozycroft Avenue shortly after 6:10 p.m. Wednesday. In the residential cul de sac, authorities found Francisco unconscious, an LAPD news release said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital later that night. Just a little while earlier, he had played in a soccer game, recording four saves in a scoreless tie against Taft High School. El Camino boys soccer coaches and team members said they would play their next match at Cleveland High on Friday night. One soccer friend, 14-year-old Victor Gonzalez, described Francisco as "fearless" on the field. "I wanted to be just like him," Gonzalez said. A bunch of people did. Los Angeles Times staff writers Andrew Blankstein and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.