5 injured in shootings in downtown San Diego

Five people were injured in back-to-back shootings Monday night in downtown San Diego’s East Village, police said.

The first happened on the corner of 15th Street and Island Avenue about 11 p.m., police Capt. Mike Holden said. Three men and one woman were standing on the east sidewalk, just north of Island, when two men approached and started firing.

One resident in a nearby building, Patricia Botello, said the shooting “went on and on like it wasn’t going to stop.”

Officers found four victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Although two of them had serious injuries, all four are expected to survive, Holden said.

The assailants were seen running east on Island Avenue. Near 19th Street, they are suspected of shooting a fifth person, the captain said.

Detectives are investigating whether the initial shooting was gang-related. It’s unclear what the motivation for the second shooting might be, Holden said.

Police don’t believe the fifth victim knew the other four.

Witnesses described the suspects as black men between 18 and 25. One man was said to be armed with a gun. He was wearing gloves and was about 6 feet 2. The other man was wearing a sweatshirt with blue or white squares on the front.

The East Village was quickly flooded with officers. A stretch of Island Avenue between 15th and 19th streets remained closed for hours.

This is the third shooting in two days. On Sunday afternoon, two men were fatally shot in front of the Mountain View Recreation Center. About seven hours later, a man was shot and killed in Logan Heights.

Holden said police are looking into whether the shootings are related.

Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.