ANAHEIM : Assailant Shoots 6 Outside Nightclub

Six men were shot, one of them seriously, by an unknown assailant outside a popular nightclub here early Wednesday, police said.

The six injured were among the late-night crowd leaving the Prestigio Tower Bar and Grill on South Anaheim Boulevard as it closed at 2 a.m. Police said they have no suspect or motive in the shooting, in which the assailant fired a large caliber, semiautomatic weapon at the front door, spraying the area with 15 to 20 bullets.

Jason Shurtliff, 21, was the most seriously injured, shot in the abdomen. He is in critical condition at UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he underwent surgery Wednesday morning.

The other victims were not seriously injured and have either been released or are in fair or good condition at three area hospitals. They are: Mark Sahagun, 22; Donald Davis, 23; Altan Aksu, 25; Konstadinos Tsimahidis, 22, and Sunly Sa, 22.

Detective Michael Foster, who is heading the investigation, said police are following all leads, including a report that the attacker may have been retaliating after being asked to leave the club earlier in the evening.

Police are also checking a rumor that the assailant is a misguided Los Angeles Dodgers fan who heard a report that troubled Dodger slugger Darryl Strawberry spent part of Saturday night and Sunday morning at the club, Foster said. Strawberry failed to appear for the final game of the Dodgers-Angels Freeway Series on Sunday afternoon. The nightspot confirmed that Strawberry was at the club the night before the Sunday game.

Foster described the .30-caliber bullets used in the shooting as “one of the most common calibers around; he could’ve used” any kind of weapon.

The club owners declined to comment. A club employee said the place has had an occasional fight, “but nothing serious like this has happened. This is the biggest problem we ever had.

“This type of thing happens in L.A., it happens here. There are idiots up there and there are idiots here,” said the employee, who declined to give his name.