Man Shot Dead; Gang Connection Suspected

A 21-year-old man was fatally shot near the Santa Fe railroad tracks Monday in what police are calling a gang-related killing.

It was the city’s first homicide this year and it happened only about a mile from where the county’s first gang-related slaying of 1994 occurred.

Police believe Abel Chavira of Santa Ana was on his way to Stater Bros. Market on McFadden Avenue when he was shot in the chest four or five times. Chavira died 30 minutes later at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

“He was walking down the street when he was confronted. We don’t know why” the shooting occurred, said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Rick Reese. Police received calls about 1:20 p.m. from the area near the intersection of McFadden and Standard avenues.

Officers arrived and found Chavira’s body at the railroad tracks at 1250 McFadden Ave.

Reese said the shooting is probably gang related because “one or two witnesses” described a suspect as a gang member. The suspect is described as a male Latino, about 18 to 20 years old, 5-foot-5 and wearing dark clothing.

However, Reese said police are having trouble finding additional witnesses in the neighborhood.

Police could not determine where Chavira lived and said only that he had a brother in the area.

Stater Bros. Market assistant clerk Fernando Arevalo said Chavira lived in the neighborhood and that some residents had seen the shooting but were afraid to tell police about it.

“People were talking about it, but they were afraid,” Arevalo said. “They live here and they don’t want to get into any of it. Maybe they know who it is and they don’t want people to come after them.

“I’ve seen shootings before here in front of the store. They fight, there are stabbings. This is a dangerous place after dark.”

Chavira was shot about a mile from where another fatal shooting happened a year ago. Siriaco Gonzalez, 17, was found near the Santa Fe railroad tracks early last Jan. 4.