Man, 21, Critically Injured in Santa Ana Shooting : Violence: He and two other victims were cruising the streets when they were stopped and fired upon in what police believe to be a gang-related incident.

A 21-year-old Inglewood man was clinging to life Monday after he and two other young men were shot in a barrage of gunfire on a Santa Ana street, authorities reported.

Sergio Jaime was airlifted to UCI Medical Center in Orange after he was shot in the head and chest at 1:16 a.m. Monday in the 1400 block of South Rene Drive, Santa Ana police said. Jaime’s 20-year-old brother, Richard, and 20-year-old Cesar Mejia, also of Inglewood, were shot in the arms and legs, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Police believe the shooting was gang-related and that the victims were cruising the streets of southwestern Santa Ana, a Sunday night tradition.

The three men and two other friends were driving on Rene Drive when they were stopped by several youths in another car, police said.

“Sergio Jaime and the other four men were challenged about their gang membership,” Sgt. George Kopitch said. “He and the passengers said they were from Inglewood, and that reply met with gunfire.”

The assailants fired 10 to 15 shots before driving away, and police said they have no suspects and recovered no weapons.

Police said car enthusiasts and often gang members from throughout Southern California continue a tradition of cruising the neighborhoods around Bristol Street and Edinger Avenue on Sunday nights, despite a crackdown by police.

“We do have some cruiser enforcement going on, but that doesn’t stop the cruising,” Kopitch said. “Last night was proof of it, I guess.”

About a year ago, 100 officers from 13 Orange County police agencies fanned out in the city’s cruising zone, trying to curb the practice by stopping cars and questioning passengers. Officers arrested drivers for vehicle infractions, possession of alcohol and other offenses in an attempt to deter cruisers.

Santa Ana police have said that for the past few years, Sunday nights have routinely brought 1,000 to 3,000 cars to a six-block stretch of Bristol Street, turning it into a virtual parking lot.

But when police turn their attention to Bristol, the drivers clog residential neighborhoods instead, according to some neighbors.

“Police don’t consider it a high priority, but they should do something,” said a 24-year-old resident who asked not to be identified. “It’s pretty dangerous. Some of (the cruisers) are intoxicated. Unless they cut down on cruising, this kind of thing leads to fights.”

On a cruising night last March, a 20-year-old Long Beach man was shot and killed after an argument between passengers of two cars in the 1500 block of South Bristol Street. The victim was a member of a Compton gang, his friends told police.

Monday’s incident was the third serious shooting in about 72 hours in Santa Ana. A 19-year-old college student was gunned down early Saturday after being chased by unknown assailants, and a Garden Grove man was shot and killed late Friday night as he sat in a car parked outside a Santa Ana convenience store.