SAN DIEGO—Police May 6 were investigating what they called a gang-related shooting in the parking lot of a recreation center in the Otay Mesa West community of San Diego in which a 20-year-old man was killed and a 19- year-old man was wounded.
Officers from the San Diego Police Department responded at about 7:05 p.m. Friday to the Montgomery Waller Recreation Center at 3020 Coronado Ave. They reported multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds.
A 20-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics rushed a 19-year-old man, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, to a hospital where he was expected to survive his injuries, police said. A third man was taken to a hospital for evaluation, but it was later determined that he was not struck by gunfire.
“At this point in the investigation, it appears the victims arrived at the recreation center in a vehicle. Almost immediately upon arriving, they encountered a group of multiple Hispanic males in the parking lot,” said Lt. Jud Campbell of the San Diego Police Department.
“At least one of these males issued a gang challenge to the victims. The suspect group began throwing glass bottles at the victims,” Campbell said. “Then, at least one of the males began firing at the victims, striking two of them. The males then left the area.”
Witnesses reported that a white sedan fled the scene westbound on Coronado Avenue, Campbell said. A suspect in the shooting was described as a possibly 19- to 20-year-old man with a thin build, Campbell added.
The SDPD urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call the department’s Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
