Gunman Kills 2 Youths, Spares Girl Who Begs for Her Life

A 14-year-old girl who begged for her life was spared by a gunman who shot three of her friends, killing two of them and critically wounding the third in a sudden attack heard by residents of a quiet cul-de-sac, the youth and authorities said Saturday.

The young girl frequently broke into tears as she recounted the brazen shooting of three men as they congregated around a car on North Highland Street on Friday night.

“I thought they were going to shoot me,” the teen-ager said in Spanish. “I said to them, ‘You know me, I’m your friend. I’m a woman.’ I said, ‘Please don’t kill me.’ ”

The girl’s younger sister, who fled as the attack occurred, also escaped injury, both girls said.

Neighbors said they heard at least a dozen gunshots followed by the teen-ager pleading with the gunmen.

“I heard a woman screaming, ‘No! No! Not me!’ ” said a man who asked not to be identified.

Police confirmed that the 14-year-old girl was in the car in the 2000 block of North Highland when 19-year-old Julio Damian Cerroblanco and Jorge Orozco, 21, were shot to death about 9:30 p.m. by a gunman with whom they had been arguing. A third victim, Jorge Avalos, 19, was in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange on Saturday. The victims, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds to their heads, were residents of Orange, police said.

The girl was sitting inside the car at the end of the cul-de-sac with two of the victims while her sister and the other victim were outside, police said. The victims had been arguing with the suspects through a third party who was acting as a messenger, Police Lt. Timm Browne said.

Witnesses said that after the final message was delivered, two men and a 17-year-old boy charged out of an apartment. One of them repeatedly fired at the victims with a 9-millimeter handgun. Police identified the adult suspects as 22-year-old Maximino Garcia and his brother, Juan Jose Garcia, 20.

“I heard many, many shots. I don’t know how many,” the 14-year-old girl said Saturday. “I said, ‘Please don’t hit my sister.’

“I have a lot of fear (today),” she added. “I’m scared. My head and ears hurt. I can still hear the shots.”

“The boys killed my friend,” the younger sister said. “Then, I ran.”

Browne said the argument “just kind of escalated rather quickly. The suspects were in the apartment, the victims were outside and the argument was being carried on by a messenger.”

Police said the suspects and victims knew one another, but declined to discuss details of the argument. Neighbors said tensions between the two groups had been simmering for some time, and that threats had been made.

The victims’ blood was still on the grass Saturday as friends set up a small memorial of flowers and candles where they were shot. Neighbors were huddled in groups, still talking about the shootings.

The shootings are the eighth and ninth homicides in Orange this year, police said.

The suspects remained at large Saturday and may be headed for Mexico, police said. They were seen fleeing in a 1973 black or dark brown Mercury Cougar with California license plates 2YVA800. Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspects’ whereabouts is asked to call Orange Police Detective Cathie Ralph at (714) 744-7575 or (714) 744-7494.