By Daily Press staff
A gang-related shooting early Sunday morning in a parking lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier resulted in the city’s second homicide of the year, police said.
A Santa Monica Police officer in the parking lot at 12:18 a.m. heard gunshots and saw several men fleeing the area, said Lt. Frank Fabrega, a police department spokesman.
The officer called for back-up, then pursued one of the suspects on foot northbound through the lot. That man and two others were caught by police and identified by witnesses as those involved in the shooting, Fabrega said.
A handgun and a knife were found after a search of the lot, police said.
The victim, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Arrested for murder were Rafael Ahumada, 25, of Van Nuys, Edwardo Solis, 25, of Canoga Park and an unidentified 17-year-old. Ahumada and Solis were booked into the Santa Monica County Jail, while the 17-year-old was taken to Eastlake Juvenile Hall.
Police suspect all three men are affiliated with a gang from outside the Santa Monica area.
The city’s first homicide of the year occurred two weeks ago when a 46-year-old Lithuanian immigrant bludgeoned his 77-year-old father to death in their two-bedroom apartment.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 19, 2002. Read the original PDF.