Army Private Shot at Homecoming : Drive-by: The 21-year-old Fullerton man is standing with friends celebrating his return when someone fires from a passing car, wounding him in the head.

A 21-year-old mechanic on leave from the U.S. Army was shot in the head in a drive-by attack while standing with friends at a party to celebrate his brief return home, police said Monday.

Pfc. Robert Segura was shot once just above the left eye and was in fair condition at a local hospital.

The shooting occurred about 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, officials said.

The gunman did not say anything before pointing a .380 handgun out the passenger side window and opening fire, police said. Segura has no gang ties, police said, and it is unclear why the assailant shot at the group of about 10 young men who were standing in the 400 block of West Commonwealth Avenue.

“Nothing was said. . . . There was no fight before or after” the shooting, said Sgt. Glenn Deveny. Witnesses told police that none of them had ever seen the vehicle before.

Police investigators were looking for the passenger and driver of a blue and gray Chevrolet S-10 Blazer that slowly cruised by the party once before turning around and passing a second time. Immediately after the shooting, the vehicle sped from the scene.

Police said they were investigating the shooting as a gang-related attack because of the manner in which it occurred. They were investigating whether someone else in the group may have been the intended target.

“We were kicking back, having a good time when someone came by and bam!” said Alex Velez, 18, whose front lawn, between a flower shop and a real estate office, was the site of the party and shooting.

Segura, a Fullerton native who signed up for the Army about two years ago, had recently returned to the neighborhood where he grew up, his friends said. Segura is a tank mechanic who has been stationed in Germany for the past year and is scheduled to be transferred to Colorado at the end of August, his friends said.

He had plans to attend drafting school after the Army, an interest that stems from his talent as an artist, friends said.

On Sunday night, Segura was standing with friends discussing plans to attend a friend’s wedding in Mexicali, Mexico, in October when the shooting occurred.

After he was shot, Segura stumbled backward in the grass, saying, “I’m all right, I’m all right--but it hurts,” said Jaime Pardo, 21, who was standing next to him at the time.

“He just came back to be with his friends, to be with the people he grew up with,” said Pardo, who said he had no idea why anyone would shoot at Segura or the group.

“Somebody was trigger happy, somebody was drunk,” Pardo said.