Man Standing Near Gang Members Is Fatally Shot

A man standing near known gang members outside a Santa Ana apartment complex was shot and killed early Thursday, police said.

It was unclear whether Rudolfo Rivera Martinez, 23, of Santa Ana was associating with the gang members when a gunman shouted “Where are you from?” and fired several rounds shortly after midnight, Police Sgt. Jim McDaniel said. Martinez was hit once in the torso and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Police Capt. Jim McCoy said the victim was not in a gang but could have been targeted simply because of where he was standing.

“Sometimes rivals will just shoot someone from another neighborhood because they live there,” McCoy said.

On Friday, local residents stopped by the shooting site on Minnie Street, where candles with religious imagery and a soda can holding a rose had been left as a shrine.

A young resident of the neighborhood said he had been a friend of the victim and used to go swimming with him. He said Martinez worked in a restaurant.

“He wasn’t in a gang,” the man said. “He was working.”

Police could not confirm late Thursday whether the gunman escaped by car or on foot, and no description of a suspect was available.

The Santa Ana Police Department’s gang unit is investigating the incident.