Slain Teen Was Shot at Before

An officer shot in the chin on Tuesday while chasing suspects in an earlier fatal shooting was released from the hospital on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, four suspects were arrested on suspicion of killing Saul De Santiago Jr., 17, a Sylmar High School student, before wounding the officer as they fled.

Although police characterized the suspects as gang members, De Santiago had no known gang affiliations, authorities said. But family members said someone also shot at the teenager last week while he was driving near a middle school.

Officer Marshall Mack, 35, is the first police official of the tiny San Fernando Police Department--which prides itself with community policing, including foot and bike patrols--to be shot since Christmas Eve, 1980, when Officer Dennis Webb was killed while questioning a robbery suspect, according to Lt. Dan Peavy of the San Fernando department.

The suspects, taken to the city jail, were identified as Tony Moreno, 20; Juan Enrique Corral, 18, and Julio Ernesto Quintanilla, 21. A 16-year-old boy was also arrested.

All the suspects live in the San Fernando Valley and are members of gangs, Peavy said.

De Santiago was shot at least four times in the face and chest by two assailants, police said.

There was no indication, Peavy said, that the youth was a gang member. But it was not the first time De Santiago had been the target of a shooting, according to his brother.

Edwin De Santiago, 15, said Wednesday that shots were fired last week at a car his brother was driving near San Fernando Middle School. A bullet lodged in the car, he said.

That shooting was not reported to the police, De Santiago family members said.

Saul De Santiago Jr. was described as a good student by several officials at Sylmar High School and Kennedy High School in Granada Hills.

“He’s a teacher’s dream,” said Harvey Phillips, a mechanical drafting teacher at Kennedy. “He was a very quiet, introspective young man.”

The principal at the Sylmar school--where Saul had transferred earlier this month--agreed.

“He was an A and B student,” said Principal Linda Calvo. “His work habits and teacher cooperation was excellent.”

The teenager’s parents said he had been accepted at several universities, including UCLA.

“He wanted to become a lawyer because there are so many injustices, and he wanted to help people,” said his father, Saul De Santiago Sr.

The teenager was killed about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the front yard of a house in the 400 block of North Huntington Street, according to police. He was there visiting friends and borrowing a video game, family members said.

The residents of the house refused to identify themselves Wednesday, saying they feared gang retaliation. In an interview, they said that a white van drove past the house a couple of times Tuesday night and then stopped in front.

Two men wielding a handgun and a rifle got out, the residents said, and opened fire on Saul.

“He was screaming every time he was shot,” said one of the residents. “I tried to jump the fence. . . . I was scared [the gunmen] would shoot me in the back, so I just went under the car.”

The assailants sped off southbound on Huntington toward where the off-duty police officer was parked, talking to a resident of the middle-class neighborhood before starting his shift, said Peavy.

As the assailants passed, they opened fire on Officer Mack, who was hit in the jaw by a bullet that exited through his chin, Peavy said.

Police had not determined why the men shot Mack, but there was speculation they may have viewed him as a possible witness.

Mack chased the van and called for assistance on his radio, sparking a massive response from several police stations, including the LAPD’s Foothill, Devonshire and North Hollywood divisions, as well as the San Fernando and Burbank departments.

The van, reported stolen from North Hollywood, crashed several blocks away near Astoria Street and Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar. Four men ran from the van, Peavy said.

The multi-agency police force set up a perimeter and arrested three suspects quickly and the fourth about two hours after the shootings, Peavy said.

The San Fernando Police Department has 37 sworn officers charged with protecting the 23,000 residents of the 2.4-square-mile city. “We feel we make a difference,” said Peavy, adding that the department has a two-minute response time. “We put an emphasis on knowing the community, the alleyways, the locations where there are problems.”

He said the department emphasizes community policing, which includes having the officers establish relationships with residents, business owners, and even gang members.

Times staff writer Claire Vitucci contributed to this story.