Boy, 5, Shot to Death at Birthday Party; Cousin Held

A weekend birthday party in Santa Ana ended in tragedy when a teen-ager, who police said had been drinking, shot his 5-year-old cousin to death.

The victim, Alejandro Magana, was playing in the backyard of his home, surrounded by a crowd of his young relatives, when Moises A. Magana, 18, pulled out a new handgun and fired four “test” shots at a nearby tree trunk, Santa Ana Police Lt. David Salazar said Sunday.

One bullet ricocheted off the ground, hitting the boy in the back about 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

Salazar said the youngster cried out, “Daddy,” then ran across the crowded yard and collapsed in his father’s arms.

“When he called, I stood up and go get him,” the father, Santiago Magana, 27, recalled Sunday in halting English. “When I pick him up, I see blood in my arms, shirt, pants. His body is bloody.”

According to the victim’s father, Moises, a Santa Ana construction worker, brought his new .38-caliber handgun to the party for Santiago’s brother, Manuel, 23. Moises planned to test the gun to see how it worked, Santiago said.

“I say, ‘Don’t do that,’ ” Santiago said. “He (Moises) say OK, he’ll put it somewhere else. I don’t know where he leave the gun.”

The party continued normally, with relatives talking and playing music at the home in the 900 block of North Euclid Street.

Pulled the Gun

Alejandro, Santiago’s oldest son, was playing with other children in the hard-packed dirt under a backyard tree when Moises--who police said had been drinking--pulled the gun out of his waistband and began shooting at the tree and the ground beneath it.

“I heard shooting, but I don’t know who’s shooting,” Santiago said. “I see the kids close to the tree. I’m sitting here, and he (Alejandro) call me, ‘Daddy.’ ”

After the shooting, family members called police, who arrived at the small tan house before paramedics, Salazar said.

Officer Craig Adams drove the wounded boy, still in his father’s arms, to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. But the kindergartner was pronounced dead on arrival.

“The shooting scared the kid, (who) ran and was struck once at close range,” Salazar said. “It (the bullet) entered his back near the left shoulder and exited the side near the elbow. It went through one of the lungs and hit the heart.”

Suspicion of Murder

After the shooting, Moises ran to his apartment on Sullivan Street in Santa Ana, where police arrested him on suspicion of murder. He remained in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

On Sunday morning, well-wishers streamed through the small house where Santiago, a metal worker, lives with what is left of his family: son Erik, 4, and his wife Griselda, 23, who is expecting another child within the month.

Leaning against a wall, Santiago spoke to a reporter.

“Everyone’s pretty sad,” he said, his eyes red and swollen. “I can’t explain it. Everyone’s being together. . . . I haven’t seen Moises. I tried to talk to him, to see what happened, but the police won’t let me see him. The thing we want to know is if we can see Moises and ask him why he shoot, why he do that.”