Search Is On for Sniper Who Fired at Officers

Santa Ana police, pinned down under sniper fire Sunday evening as they investigated the death of a man found in a vacant lot, on Monday still were trying to find the unseen attacker.

No one was injured in the 6:20 p.m. Sunday attack in the 700 block of E. 3rd Street, where two Santa Ana patrolmen and some city fire paramedics had responded to a call of a man down.

When police and firemen arrived, they said they found a man with no pulse lying in a dirt lot. While they attempted to revive him, they heard a gunshot and a bullet flew by and struck a wall about 15 feet away, said Santa Ana police spokesman Maureen Thomas. The officers and paramedics then dove for cover behind a nearby wall and called for additional units, Thomas said.

Search Conducted

Police cordoned off several blocks around the area and conducted a door-to-door search. When officers found a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition at one nearby address, police took the occupant in for questioning. However, Thomas said the man was released without charges at 3 a.m. Monday after it was determined that he had nothing to do with the attack.

Police kept the area sealed off for about two hours. Afterward, they allowed the county coroner’s office to remove the body of Jorge Ortega Ayala, about 25, a Santa Ana resident. The cause of Ayala’s death was still unknown Monday afternoon. Thomas said that Ayala had no apparent injuries and that an autopsy was scheduled.

Thomas said there is no known connection between the sniping and Ayala’s death. She said there is also no known motive for the sniping and no indication of who might be responsible. Thomas noted that there were no known witnesses to the attack and that officers saw no one running from the scene.

Thomas asked anyone having information on who might be responsible for the attack to call Santa Ana police at (714) 834-4801.