Actor and co-star of the popular WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, Merlin Santana was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 am in a Los Angeles area hospital. The actor, known for his character Romeo on the popular sitcom, was sitting in the passenger seat of an unidentified vehicle when at least one person approached the car and opened fire into the car striking Santana an unspecified amount of times.
Los Angeles Police have yet to determine a motive in the shooting and, at this time, have no leads in this investigation.
In a recent interview with Santana, he was planning on launching a new endeavor into the hip-hop world as a rap artist with some of his close friends and producers Kingsley and Gerard.
Merlin has recently appeared in the Eddie Murphy movie “Showtime” and had a successful television career.
His portrayal of Romeo Santana, on The Steve Harvey Show, earned him nominations for the NAACP Image Awards and the ALMA Awards for Hispanic performers.
Santana had made guest appearances on such television shows as “Major Dad,” “Moesha” and “Sister, Sister.” He also appeared in episodes of “The Cosby Show.”