Shooting suspects at large

Deepa Bharath

Police are still looking for three men they say are responsible for

shooting a 21-year-old Costa Mesa man in the leg on Friday night.

The incident is being investigated by gang detail officers, but

officials are not sure whether the incident itself is gang-related,

said Sgt. Tim Schennum, who supervises the gang officers.

“There may be some gang association,” he said. “But we’re not deep

enough into the investigation yet to determine if this incident was

gang-related.”

The victim, who has not been identified by police, was standing on

the sidewalk in the 600 block of Hamilton Street at around 9 p.m.

Friday when three men in their early 20s approached him, police said.

One of the men reportedly said something to the victim and then

pulled out a handgun. The victim started to run and was shot in the

leg, police said. The men took off, and the victim was taken to

Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. He did not suffer any

life-threatening injuries.

The biggest challenge in cracking this case is that there weren’t

too many witnesses, Schennum said.

“It may have been because it happened at night,” he said. “Or it

could’ve been that people weren’t paying attention to what was going

on.”

Friday’s incident is not necessarily an indication of heightened

gang activity or violence in the Westside or in the city, Schennum

said.

Local gangs became more active than usual after an alley shooting

off Coolidge Avenue the night before Thanksgiving Day, which left two

people injured. A multi-agency sweep less than a month after that

incident resulted in the arrest of six people who were either gang

members or were affiliated with gangs.

“Things have been pretty quiet after those arrests,” Schennum

said.

Warring Costa Mesa gangs have also simmered down now, he said.

“We’re not seeing one gang working against another or that

tit-for-tat type of incidents,” Schennum said. “Those have gone

down.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].