Soccer Player Fatally Shot After Argument at Game

Spurred by a dispute in a soccer game Saturday, a 36-year-old Santa Ana man was shot and killed minutes after the contest by a member of the other team.

The shooting occurred about 4:45 p.m. at McGarvin Intermediate School on Bishop Place, Police Lt. Phil Marshall said.

The victim and two suspects were competing in an adult soccer league game. Witnesses told police the three players argued after bumping into each other toward the end of the game.

“When the game was over, the victim was sitting on the ground changing his shoes, and then one of the suspects came up to him and shot him in the head,” Marshall said.

The gunman and other suspect then ran away, he said. Police were still searching for them.

Police investigators late Saturday were interviewing soccer players who witnessed the shooting and were not sure exactly why the confrontation turned violent.

“From what we can tell now, it was one of those things that players get into. One guy must have taken offense and shot him,” Marshall said.

The victim, whose name was not released, died at the scene.