Man Found Shot to Death on Street in Santa Ana

A man was shot and killed in Santa Ana late Thursday, the third fatal shooting in the city in three days, police said.

Jose Luis Velasquez, 28, of Santa Ana was found lying in the street in the 1600 block of West St. Gertrude Street just before midnight, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Steve Despenas said.

Officers responded to a report of shots fired and found Velasquez with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Despenas said.

Officials said they did not know what motivated the shooting or whether it was gang related.

On Tuesday, police had responded to two drive-by shootings three minutes apart. In the first incident, near Myrtle and Shelton streets, Carlos Zapata, 20, was shot once in the head but survived.

A few minutes later, just blocks away at 2nd and Olive streets, 17-year-old Juan Chavarria Contreras was found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead.

Officials said both incidents were apparently gang related.

On Wednesday night, Sergio Hernandez, 26, of Westminster was found shot to death in a wrecked car on the 2100 block of West 5th Street, Despenas said.

The incidents Wednesday and Thursday do not appear to be related, Despenas said.

“It has just been a particularly bad week,” he said. “There isn’t necessarily cause for concern.”

Despenas said that in summer months, as temperatures rise, so do reports of violent incidents.