Witnesses describe scene in Costa Mesa shooting that left 1 dead and 4 wounded on Thanksgiving
A man who opened fire in Costa Mesa on Thanksgiving, leaving one person dead and four others hurt, turned himself in to police the following day.
The shooting was reported at 6:50 p.m. in the 400 block of Bay Street, Costa Mesa Police said. Surveillance footage recorded before officers arrived and posted on social media showed two vehicles stopping in the street, followed by an exchange of words and then the sound of shots fired.
The violence was the result of a minor traffic collision, Costa Mesa police said in an update. A suspect surrendered to officers early Friday morning and was later identified as Lee Quevon Walker, 41, of Santa Ana.
The man who died was Costa Mesa resident Lucas Rivera-Velasco, police said. Amelia Avalos, 67, said Rivera-Velasco worked for her neighbor’s landscaping company.
She was among a handful of acquaintances and strangers who visited a makeshift memorial of flowers and 38 candles left in Lucas-Rivera’s memory Monday near Bay and Parsons Street.
Another man who declined to share his name with the Pilot said he was around the corner when shots rang out. He said at least 10 people came out of a nearby apartment building to aid the wounded.
Another man who also asked not to have his name published out of concern for his safety said he was in a nearby business Saturday evening.
“There were two bangs, and I thought those were fireworks at first,” he said during a brief interview Friday morning. “But then I heard this rapid pop, pop, pop, pop, and that’s when I realized those were gunshots. I ducked under my desk because I was afraid they might have been shooting in my direction.”
Afterward, he went outside and saw a man who may have been the gunman get back into one of the vehicles. The witness described that person’s demeanor as “nonchalant” and said he sat in the driver’s seat for at least a minute before calmly driving away.
The witness also saw several people lying injured in the street. Paramedics loaded five people into stretchers and took them to hospitals, including two who appeared to be in “agonizing pain with blood all over them.”
Rivera-Velasco died at a hospital. He was 30 years old.
Another person who was wounded remained in “critical” condition Tuesday. The remaining three were expected to recover from their injuries, Costa Mesa Police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said.
Prosecutors charged Walker with murder and five counts of attempted murder. He remained in custody at the Theo Lacy Jail as of Tuesday, according to inmate records and is being held on $12-million bail.
Police described the shooting as an isolated incident. It was not gang-related, Fyad said.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
