3 Men Hurt in Santa Ana Drive-By Shotgun Attack

Two men standing in a street talking were wounded by shotgun blasts and a third was hit by a car Tuesday night in what police said was a gang attack.

Two of the victims, whose names were not immediately available, were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, while the third was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Police said all three victims were in stable condition with unspecified injuries.

The men were standing near a truck parked in front of 2021 W. Myrtle St. at 8:30 p.m., when a blue Buick Regal drove by and a shotgun was fired, Officer Steve Alegre said at the scene. A birthday party was going on in the courtyard between apartments at 2021 and 2015 W. Myrtle St., witnesses said.

A man who said he was talking to the victims before the shooting said a car drove down Myrtle and shot at and wounded two of the victims. Then the driver made a U-turn and hit the third man.

The witness said he ducked behind a truck during the shots, and after the car drove away, he ran out onto the street to drag one of the victims to safety.

“He was just groaning and said he had been shot,” said the witness, who refused to give his name.

The party-goers were mostly quiet later as they watched police investigate the shooting. “Everyone saw what happened,” a young man said. “But no one will talk.”