Man Killed After Altercation in Santa Ana

A 26-year-old man identified by police as a known gang member was shot to death in a car Sunday after an altercation with passengers in another vehicle, authorities said.

Rene Rodriguez of Perris in Riverside County was shot several times shortly before 5 p.m. as he drove in a car near the intersection of McFadden Avenue and Raitt Street, said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Steve Hawkins.

A car containing several people pulled alongside a car that Rodriguez was a passenger in, he said. “After a brief verbal confrontation, one of the suspects in the [other] vehicle fired several shots at Rodriguez,” Hawkins said. “Rodriguez was hit in the upper torso.”

Rodriguez’s friends drove him to Schaffer Ambulance, a private dispatch service in the 2200 block of South Bristol Street. Police and paramedics were called and Rodriguez was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead, Hawkins said.

The slaying is being investigated by the police gang detail, he said.