A man was shot and killed early Monday morning in downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, and two people were taken into custody following a separate non-injury shooting that occurred minutes earlier a few blocks away, police said.
The fatal shooting was reported about 1:55 a.m. on Island Avenue near Fifth Avenue, San Diego police Lt. Michelle Velovich said.
Officers arrived to find several people providing aid to a man on the sidewalk who had suffered at least one gunshot wound to his upper body, Velovich said.
The victim, who was pronounced dead at a hospital, remained unidentified late Monday morning, but he was believed to be in his late 20s.
RELATED: SDPD Announces Crackdown On Violent Crime, ‘Ghost Guns’
Investigators determined that prior to the shooting, two groups had gotten into a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical fight, Velovich said.
During the fight, someone pulled out a handgun and fired several gunshots, striking the victim at least once in the upper body, she said. The gunman then got into a four-door sedan with at least two other people and fled the scene.
A detailed description of the gunman was not immediately available.
About 10 minutes prior to the fatal shooting, a separate shooting happened near the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Market Street, Officer Sarah Foster said. Patrol officers in the area heard gunshots and pursued a suspect vehicle a short distance before the driver pulled over, the officer said.
No one was struck by the gunfire, but a man and a woman were taken into custody in connection with that shooting, Foster said. Their names were not immediately released.
Anyone with information on the fatal shooting was asked to call SDPD's Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
