Police Seek 3 Suspects in Shooting at Restaurant

Oxnard police investigators are searching for three men believed responsible for killing a 24-year-old Oxnard father of two and critically injuring his 26-year-old nephew.

Gabriel Cortez was shot in the chest about 1 a.m. and died shortly afterward. His nephew, Frank Cortez, was shot in the upper torso during the altercation at a restaurant.

At the Cortez family home, the dead man’s girlfriend said the shooting occurred during what seemed to be an innocuous argument.

“I don’t even know what they were saying,” said Eva Delgado, who witnessed the shooting. “It was only a few seconds and then this guy started firing without warning.”

Delgado, who is the mother of Gabriel Cortez’s 3- and 5-year-old daughters, tried to resuscitate Cortez after he was shot.

“Frankie was just crying because he saw his uncle lying there,” she said.

Family members said the two young men were more like brothers than nephew and uncle.

“They were very close,” said Gloria Lopez, one of Gabriel’s sisters.

Gabriel and Frank Cortez had gone to El Taco de Mexico on the 200 block of East 5th Street in Oxnard with their girlfriends just after 1 a.m., family members said.

While they were getting their food, three men entered the restaurant and got into an argument with Gabriel and Frank Cortez, police said. Without warning, one of trio pulled out a handgun and fired.

“We don’t really know what this was all over,” said Sgt. Cliff Troy, although he said the shooting was not gang-related.

The shooter is believed to be 30 to 35 years old, about 5 feet, 10 inches and 160 pounds, Troy said.

One of the other suspects is described as about 24 years old and 5 feet, 9 inches. Witnesses said he was wearing a cowboy hat. The third man is believed to be about 30 years old, 6 feet and 180 pounds, with black, curly, shoulder-length hair and a mustache.

Frank Cortez was listed in critical condition at Columbia Los Robles Hospital late Monday. Officials said he was unconscious and unable to give better descriptions of the suspects.

At the Cortez family home in east Oxnard, Gabriel Cortez’s elderly father and uncle spoke with a steady stream of visitors who stopped by to pay their respects and offer help.

The family is also trying to raise money to help pay for Cortez’s funeral. Donations can be made in Cortez’s name at the Garcia Mortuary or those interested in helping can contact Gabriel Cortez’s brother, Pastor Gus Cortez, at the Victory Fellowship Church at 487-7115.