1 Man Slain, Another Critically Hurt in Separate County Shootings

A man was shot in the back in an Anaheim convenience store’s parking lot Saturday morning and died shortly afterward in a nearby hospital, leaving police with few clues as to why he was attacked.

In a separate incident, a critically wounded man was on life-support systems after he was shot in the head in Santa Ana. Police there also have no suspects.

Anaheim Lt. John Cross said police received a call reporting gunshots shortly after midnight. Officers found Ramon Lopez Cervantes, 26, with a gunshot wound outside a 7-Eleven store. He was taken by paramedics to Anaheim Memorial Hospital, where he died at 1:33 a.m.

Detectives said Cervantes had been involved in a fight in the parking lot before the shooting. The suspects, who fled before police arrived, were described only as male.

Police spokesmen said the shooting could have been related to gangs, but they are not certain.

Hours later, Santa Ana police found an unconscious man between two homes on the 3000 block of Cubbon Street.

At first, officers thought the unidentified man had been only beaten by four men who, witnesses told police, had fled in a gray pickup truck.

But police later learned from doctors at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana that a body scan showed fragments of a bullet in the man’s head and concluded that he had been shot in the left ear.

Sgt. Dick Faust said the victim had no identification and is on life-support system. He was listed in critical condition.

Witnesses told police they heard a scuffle between the two houses but could not identify anyone involved.