GARDEN GROVE : Police Seek Clues to Shooting of Youth

Police investigators were seeking clues Monday in the mysterious shooting of a youth found slumped over in his car by a passing ambulance crew near a busy intersection Sunday.

Westminster resident Yue Zhu, 17, was upgraded from critical to fair condition Monday after undergoing surgery for a single shot to his chest. He was reported “doing well” in the intensive care unit at UCI Medical Center, spokeswoman Fran Tardiff said.

Zhu was shot once “just as he was exiting the driveway” of Round Table Pizza at 31892 Brookhurst Ave., Garden Grove Police Sgt. Doug Morrill said.

“A few witnesses heard the shot, but nobody saw a suspect,” Morrill said. “By the time they looked around, they didn’t see anything.”

He was found by the crew of a private ambulance in his car sometime after 8 p.m. at the corner of Brookhurst Avenue and Westminster Boulevard, Police Sgt. Larry Ebelt said. Morrill reported that police recovered a bullet casing.

Round Table manager Jay Ponce said he and his staff didn’t see or hear anything unusual Sunday night.

Ponce said the business was robbed at gunpoint on March 5 “and everything was taken. We are so disturbed about this area.”

Police are seeking witnesses to the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators during business hours at (714) 741-5800, or at (714) 741-5704 after 5 p.m.