Police Search for Gunman After Man, 25, Is Shot Dead

A 25-year-old man was shot to death early Wednesday, and investigators said they are continuing to search for the gunman.

Officers responding to a call found Alvaro Contreras of Santa Ana in the street in the 1100 block of South Birch Street about 2:40 a.m., police said. He died at the scene of a gunshot wound, they said.

Contreras was living nearby and was scheduled to return from work about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday but never showed up, relatives said. Then about three hours later, the relatives heard sirens and opened the front door to find Contreras’ body in the street, said Fidel Contreras, the slain man’s older brother.

“We heard nothing. We saw nothing,” said Contreras, who turns 37 today. “He had parked his car. . . . We think that someone else must have called him over, then he walked to the middle of the street, where he was killed.”

On Wednesday, about a dozen friends and relatives gathered at the Contreras family’s home to mourn the man, who was described as easygoing and quiet.

“He was a very, very nice guy,” his brother said. “He didn’t have any enemies.”

Alvaro Contreras made seals such as O-rings at the International Seal Co. in Santa Ana, where he had been employed for more than a year. Relatives said he enjoyed playing baseball and going to church on weekends. He has five brothers and a sister in Orange County and parents in Mexico, his brother said.

Detectives said they interviewed neighbors and other family members, but as of Wednesday had found no witnesses.