2 Slain in Anaheim Shooting

Two men were shot to death and two others arrested and charged with suspicion of murder early Saturday morning.

Police said Juan Carlos Rubio, 23, of Anaheim and Murguiondo Sanchez, 29, described as a transient, were being held Saturday in the 1:10 a.m. shooting in the 400 block of South Philadelphia Street.

The identities of the victims, both believed to be in their early 20s, were withheld pending notification of family.

Police Lt. John L. Haradon said an officer was patroling about a block south of the scene when he heard shots. The officer reported seeing a Ford Bronco pickup truck and a Chevrolet sedan traveling side by side north on Philadelphia when the Chevrolet containing the victims veered and stopped after hitting the curb.

The Bronco sped off, then crashed into a parked car a few blocks away. The suspects ran but were captured a short distance away, police said.

Haradon said at least two handguns were recovered, but police declined to specify what kind and have not determined whether the slayings were related to gangs or whether the victims and suspects were trading shots.

One of the victims was pronounced dead at Western Medical Center-Anaheim, the other at UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Residents in the area and Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, whose law office is in a restored home at Philadelphia and Broadway, said they were shocked.

“Holy Toledo!” Hunter said Saturday. “That’s getting a little too close.”