Dispute between two drivers ends in shooting; police seek more information

Chula Vista police are investigating a shooting early Wednesday involving two drivers who got into a fight near the entrance to the Otay Ranch mall.

The shooting was reported around 10 a.m. near the intersection of Olympic Parkway and Town Center Drive near the Otay Ranch Town Center mall, said Chula Vista police Lt. Gino Grippo.

Police initially were called by someone who reported a shooting on Eastlake Parkway, near the Walmart parking lot, about a half-mile from the mall.

A short time later, police received a second call — this time from the shooting victim, a 34year-old Chula Vista resident, who reported he had been injured and was driving himself to get help.

Dispatchers told the man to pull over so emergency responders could help him, and paramedics took him to a hospital to be treated.

Scanner radio traffic between a paramedic and hospital staff indicated the driver had suffered a wound to his left arm and his right hand. Molina said the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

By time officers arrived at the scene, both drivers were gone, police said. The relationship between the two men is unknown, and a description of the shooter was not immediately available.

The Chula Vista Police Department posted on Facebook telling drivers to consider alternate routes because eastbound traffic from state Route 125 near the mall was closed for the investigation.

A person commenting on the Police Department’s post reported that sheshe saw two men in a fist fight in the street before one of them fired off two shots.

Investigators believe other vehicles were at the intersection when the shooting occurred. They asked anyone with information, photos or videos of the incident to call police at (619) 691-5151 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can also submit anonymous information through P3tips at http://p3tips.com/409.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com