Hail of AK-47 Bullets Kills 1, Hurts 4 in O.C.

SANTA ANA — A suspected gang member sprayed at least 24 bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle into a party early Sunday, killing one youth and seriously wounding four others in what police called an uncommonly bloody incident.

The drive-up shooting unleashed “complete chaos,” among 20 people outside a home in the 2000 block of South Broadway, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Dave Petko. “It was an awful, terribly violent shooting even in today’s standards of gang violence.”

Authorities said that, while overall gang shootings have declined in Orange County, the use of a high-velocity military weapon may signal a new danger. Statistics were not immediately available Sunday, but local officials were unable to recall another attack involving an assault rifle.

“We’re seeing fewer gang-related incidents, fewer shootings and confrontations,” said Westminster Police Chief James Cook, who is chairman of the Gang Steering Committee for the Orange County Police Chiefs and Sheriff’s Assn. “But they’re becoming more violent. . . . An AK-47 is meant to do one thing. They’re not messing around anymore.”

Shocked neighbors said they are afraid the 3 a.m. shooting will touch off further violence.

“It’s coming now,” said Gustavo Ramos, a 20-year resident of South Broadway, where the shooting occurred. “We have to get ready for the payback. You’ll see.”

According to police and witnesses, the bullets ripped into Guadalupe Ramirez’s front yard, where his son, Pepe Ramirez, and a group of friends had been drinking beer on the porch and chatting on the lawn.

A short young man with a buzz haircut fired the AK-47 over the hood of a car, directing the hail of high-powered bullets back and forth at the crowd, which was visible through a chain-link fence.

The dark gray two-door car was driven by another youth, who ducked in his seat and waited for his partner to finish, witnesses said. Then, as people screamed and darted for cover and two wounded victims crawled through their own blood to reach a dying friend, the attackers drove off.

Angel Ureno 17, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Anaheim teenager was hit in the chest, arm and head, and he collapsed in the driveway. Police believe at least three of the victims and both assailants are members of two rival Latino gangs. Ureno’s relatives insisted that he did not belong to a gang.

Both Pepe Ramirez and his brother-in-law, Joe Cruz, 22, were recovering late Sunday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. Hoping to avoid a reluctance among the victims to cooperate with their investigation, police would not release the names of the others who were wounded.

“A lot of times in situations like this, everybody gets amnesia,” Petko said.

Ramirez’s uncle, Alfredo Ramirez, said he had warned his nephew about hanging around outdoors with his friends because he feared they were “making themselves a target” for violent gang members who often cruise the neighborhood.

“I told him over and over to stop it, to be careful or someone would get killed,” Ramirez said. “No one would listen.”

Two teenagers who attended the party said the shooting was unprovoked, and they disputed reports that the victims exchanged words with the suspects before the shooting.

Neighbors who rushed to the lawn immediately afterward said it resembled a battlefield, with bleeding victims writhing on the ground and cries of pain directing them to the injured.

“I saw this one boy, his hand was a mess, and he was screaming out for help,” said Teresa Trujillo, who lives across the street. “I just know he lost four fingers.”

Carlos Pena, who bolted from his house when he heard the gunfire, said he ran down the street and tried to help the victims until paramedics arrived but was distracted by “all the blood.”

Hours later, as he watched fire officials wash down the lawn and driveway, Pena shook his head and covered his eyes.

“Gangs used to be gangs,” he said. “Now they are armies.”

In Anaheim last week, police seized two magazine clips for an AK-47 assault rifle from a teenager after a pursuit, officials said.

While police emphasized that assault weapons are not common in Orange County shootings, Sunday’s attack marked the second time in a week that such a rifle was used by suspected gang members in Southern California.

Just three days ago, a family of four was caught in a barrage of bullets from an AK-47 in Florence, where they had gone to pick up their broken-down car.

Earlier this year, a mother and daughter were killed by a single errant bullet from a high-powered assault rifle that ripped through the living room of their Rancho Dominguez home. Before that, a 2-year-old was killed when her family became trapped in apparent gang cross-fire near Carson.

Such carnage is typical of assault weapons, which can send bullets through half a dozen walls with ease, police said. Nearly half the victims in gang-related shootings are uninvolved bystanders, officials said.

“They’re lousy shots,” Cook said of those who carry out such attacks. “And they’re probably going to be turning these weapons loose in urban settings more and more.”