3 Men Killed, 1 Wounded in O.C. Shootings

Three men were shot to death and one other was critically wounded late Monday night outside a sprawling Santa Ana apartment complex that authorities say is known for violence and drug dealing.

A man believed to be the lone gunman was spotted by witnesses running north on Sullivan Street shortly after the 10 p.m. shooting, Police Sgt. Joseph Esther said. However, no one was in custody by early today.

Two of the dead men were found near a bank of pay telephones on the grounds of the Fairview Villas apartment complex, which spans several blocks between Sullivan and Fairview streets, just north of McFadden Avenue. The third body was found less than 75 yards away, Esther said.

The victims had not been positively identified by early this morning, but all three were described as being in their middle to late 20s, leading investigators to speculate that the shootings may not have been gang-related.

The wounded man was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was being treated in the emergency trauma center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Esther said the man, apparently an innocent bystander from Garden Grove, was found in a red compact car in the driveway of the complex entrance on Sullivan Street. His name was not immediately released.

Initial investigation at the murder scene suggested that only one handgun was used.

Fabiola Romero, a resident at the apartment complex, said she was awakened in her second-story bedroom by the gunshots. The 17-year-old said she ordered her niece and two nephews, who had been asleep in the next bed, to get on the floor.

“I just told everyone to get down,” she said.

When the gunshots finally ceased, Romero said, she crept to the bedroom window and saw two men lying near the pay phones at the end of her building. She looked over and saw a third body near an adjacent building, then saw a neighbor appear and shout for help.

Several residents said they did not know the dead men. However, police said it appears that two of the men were residents of the complex and the third man lived nearby.

Carlos Gonzales, who was riding his bicycle about 150 yards from the scene, said he heard three gunshots, followed by a minute of silence. The 20-year-old, who lives a few blocks from the apartment complex, said he then heard another nine or so shots. “It went prat prat prat, over and over again,” Gonzalez said.

“This is one of the most violent neighborhoods around here,” said Ron Castro, a Santa Ana Fire Department battalion commander at the shooting scene. As he spoke, a burst of what seemed to be gunfire could be heard in the distance.

“There are one to two shootings a week, three to four assaults, four to five stabbings. And that may be on a slow week,” Castro said.

A two-square-mile area surrounding the apartment complex is home to anywhere from seven to 11 youth gangs, Castro said.

“This is not going to end,” Castro said of Monday night’s eruption of violence. “Just look around you,” he added, pointing to the dozens of people gathered outside the complex. “All you see is poverty and despair.”

The murder suspect, described only as being in his early to mid-20s, entered the complex on foot and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun on a group of four or five men standing by the bank of phones, Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Helton said. He fired between 10 and 15 shots.

Police, who were summoned by security guards, apparently passed the possible suspect as they sped south on Sullivan Street.

A woman believed to be the wife of one of the dead men arrived on the scene shortly before 11 p.m., and was told that her husband had been shot. Authorities said she fainted when she saw her husband’s body, and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her name was not released.

Fairview Villas is a massive concrete-and-stucco village of hundreds of apartments contained in two-story buildings and surrounded by concrete block walls. The people living in the complex are predominantly Latino.

Law enforcement officials said the surrounding neighborhood is a rough, densely populated and ethnically mixed area known for muggings and violence associated with both gangs and drugs.

“We have had narcotics dealing here in the past,” Helton said.

Neighbors speculated that the shooting was related to drug dealing.

“The problem is drugs,” said Manuel Gomez, a 20-year-old who lives across the street from the Fairview Villas. “Some people sell drugs over there. It’s been going on for years.”

Security gates were installed recently, apparently an effort by apartment security to stem unwanted traffic into the complex, neighbors said. But the gates have failed to curb drug activity, they said.

“It’s drugs and more drugs--nothing has changed,” Gomez said.

Times staff writer Kristina Lindgren contributed to this report.