Traffic Dispute Brings About Fatal Shooting

A Westminster man was fatally shot during a traffic confrontation Monday with another driver on Edinger Avenue.

The victim, Daniel Martin Renz, 34, of Westminster, was shot once in the stomach as he approached a driver who may have cut him off in traffic, police said. Renz later died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Both drivers were trying to make a right turn from Beach Boulevard onto Edinger about 8 a.m. when the dispute began, Officer Mike Corcoran said.

“The victim apparently pulled over to the side of the road in the 8400 block of Edinger, got out of his car and came toward the suspect’s vehicle, at which point he was critically wounded,” Corcoran said.

Renz got back in his car, and drove home, where he dialed 911, police said.

A witness was able to write down a license number of the vehicle involved, a 1989 gray Chevrolet Chevette. It was recovered by police in Westminster about an hour after the shooting.

Police subsequently arrested Gifford Michael Madden, 29, of Westminster and booked him on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police closed Edinger between Beach and Newland Street for several hours Monday morning as detectives searched for evidence.

Police are asking witnesses to call the department’s hot line, (714) 375-5066.

Corcoran had this advice for motorists who are cut off by other drivers: “Don’t get caught up in the emotion of the event. Let it go. The wisest thing to do is to put as much distance as possible between yourself and the individual who seems to be having the problem.”