1 Arrested in Killing of Irvine Teenager

A 17-year-old suspect was arrested Thursday in the killing of an Irvine teenager in what police said was a gang-related shooting that erupted in the neighborhood of a Fullerton country club.

Fullerton detectives arrested the suspect without incident at 10 a.m. at a Norwalk residence, Sgt. Joe Klein said. His identity is being withheld because he is a juvenile, but Klein said he was being held at Orange County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of killing Russell Su, 18.

The suspect was taken into custody at a condominium complex and no weapons were recovered, Klein said.

Klein said the suspect is believed to be affiliated with a street gang, and that more arrests are expected.

“We have good information that we’re following,” he said. “We do know there are many other suspects involved, but we don’t know the exact number. However, we do anticipate more arrests.”

Police said Su and three other males from Irvine were shot at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday. The three others--ages 19, 21 and 21--were treated in different hospitals. Klein said their conditions were upgraded to stable Thursday.

Klein said that Su and one of the wounded victims have had “previous gang associations.” But he declined to say whether they were affiliated with a gang at the time of the shooting.

According to police, the incident began as a disagreement at Emery Park. Police have refused to say what the suspects and victims were doing at the city park that late at night.

Klein said the two sides argued. Six people left in three cars, followed by the suspects in two cars through the twisting streets of the hilly community.

Police said the victims, unfamiliar with area, turned on Island Drive and ended up on a cul-de-sac at the north end. They were quickly blocked by the suspects’ two cars.

Klein said the suspects fired 15 rounds at Su and the others, who were unarmed. Spent bullet casings littered the street, and a stray round went through the window of a house. No residents were wounded.

Two of the six people in the cars chased by the gunmen also escaped injury.

Su and the others drove to St. Jude Medical Center, where he and the other victims were treated in the emergency room. Hospital officials called police, who arrived and found two of the cars riddled with bullet holes.

The wounded victims were later transported to different hospitals for additional treatment. Su died Wednesday at 9:25 a.m. at UCI Medical Center of a bullet wound to his neck.