SANTA ANA : Reputed Member of Gang Fatally Shot

An alleged gang member was fatally shot around midnight Monday as he was being driven away from a fight with rival gang members, police said.

Eddieberto Felix, 18, of Santa Ana was in the parking lot of a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant at Edinger Avenue and Bristol Street when the group of men with whom he had been fighting opened fire, according to Lt. Bob Helton.

Felix ran away, flagged down a passing motorist and asked for help, police said.

As he was being driven away, Felix leaned out the passenger window to look back at the assailants and was shot once in the head, Helton said.

The driver took Felix to the Healthcare Medical Center of Tustin, where he was dead on arrival, according to Helton, who said Felix was known to be a Santa Ana gang member.

Investigators didn’t know what the fight was about and no suspects were in custody Monday.

The name of the driver, who Helton said was not involved in the dispute, was withheld for his safety.

Another shooting happened at that corner of Edinger Avenue and Bristol Street last year.

In August, Debbie Gonzalez, 23, died after a stray bullet fired during a gang confrontation hit her in head. A 17-year-old believed to be a gang member was arrested hours later on suspicion of the shooting.

Gonzalez, who investigators said was not a gang member, had been standing with friends in the same parking lot of the Jack-In-The-Box when shots were fired.

The suspect, standing on the other side of Edinger Avenue, allegedly had been aiming at a moving car but instead hit Gonzalez.