Police search for 2 masked intruders who shot Huntington Beach man
Police are searching for two masked intruders who shot a Huntington Beach resident inside his home early Thursday morning but left another man uninjured despite putting a gun to his head.
The victim called police just before 3:30 a.m. to tell them he’d been shot in his home in the 8400 block of Lambert Drive, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department.
Police did not identify the victim but described him as in his 20s or 30s. He was in critical but stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds.
A friend of the victim, who asked not to be identified, said he was staying in the home and witnessed the violence after waking up with a gun pointed in his face.
“It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever been through,” he said as he left the scene wearing part of a plastic jumpsuit police gave him after taking his blood-stained pants as part of the investigation.
The two strangers wore ski masks and yelled that they were police as they entered, waking up the two men inside, according to the friend.
He described being held at gunpoint moments before his friend ran down a hallway toward the two gunmen and began fighting with them.
The friend said he only heard one gunshot but police told him the victim was shot three times before the assailants fled.
His hand shook later Tuesday morning while he dialed another friend’s cellphone to tell his mother he was alive. Police had taken his phone as part of the investigation.
Police believe the home wasn’t randomly targeted.
Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said there were signs of “criminal activity” at the house, but declined to elaborate further.
Officers were seeking a search warrant for further investigation, he said.
Neighbors said the grandson of the home’s previous owner moved into the green one-level residence with friends about two years ago. Late-night parties were not uncommon.
“At all hours of the night, I’d hear a lot of loud noises and voices that sometimes sounded like domestic violence,” said neighbor Dayna Sanders, 45. “I hadn’t seen or heard anything illegal.”
Police did not identify any suspects and declined to release additional details.
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