15-YEAR-OLD BOY SHOT, KILLED AT CHICANO PARK AMID WITNESSES

A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot Friday night at Chicano Park, and a homicide lieutenant pleaded with those who were at the iconic site in Barrio Logan to come forward with information about the slaying.

“There were a lot of people here that saw and heard what happened, and they all fled when officers arrived,” San Diego police homicide Lt. Andra Brown said.

“We know there are people that saw this and know what happened, we really would like to talk to them ... so that we can solve this case and get some justice for the family of this 15-year-old, she said.”

Brown told Onscene TV that several 911 callers reported the eruption of gunfire just before 10 p.m. at the park, which sits between National and Logan avenues under the transition ramps between Interstate 5 and the San Diego-coronado Bridge.

Officers arrived within about 30 seconds, according to Brown. But as the police pulled up, people who were at the park scattered, including the driver and a passenger of a silver Honda sedan.

In that sedan, officers found the victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound, Brown said. Medics took the boy to a hospital, where he died.

Detectives did not immediately know what led up to the shooting.

“This one we need some help on,” Brown told Onscene TV. “There (are) a lot of casings and bullets at the scene, so we do have some evidence, but there (were) also a lot of people that were here.”

Police have identified the victim but are not releasing his name at this time, police said Saturday.

On Saturday, friends held a vigil on the corner of National Avenue and Dewey Street in Chicano Park.

People formed a circle around candles, stacked pizza boxes, flowers and a single red balloon on the sidewalk. Written in spray paint on a nearby wall were the words, “Rest in power” and mention of the local gang Logan Heights Red Steps.

A Gofundme fundraiser created to help the family with funeral expenses had raised more than $2,260 as of Saturday.

“My little brother Brian was taken too soon from us,” wrote fundraiser organizer Perla Castrejon.

“He was such a great, outgoing, happy person. We want to make sure we give him the proper funeral he deserves.”

Brown said anyone with information about the slaying could call the Police Department’s homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com andrea.lopezvillafana@sduniontribune.com

Dead man found floating near G Street docks

The body of a man who police believe had drowned several days ago near the G Street docks in downtown San Diego was found on Saturday morning, according to Onscene TV.

A commercial fisherman spotted the body floating near the docks around 5 a.m. Saturday and alerted authorities.

The San Diego Harbor Police, who had been searching for the man’s body for a few days, recovered the body near Dock 2 after a 30-minute search.

Harbor Police officials said they spotted two men struggling to swim in the water near Dock 3 several nights ago.

One man was rescued and taken to the hospital, but the other man could not be found and was presumed drowned, Onscene TV reported.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com

Driver killed in two-car crash in Mission Valley

A man was killed early Saturday morning in a twovehicle accident on Interstate 8 in Mission Valley.

According to a witness at the scene, the male driver of a silver SUV traveling westbound on I-8 at Taylor Street at 12:17 a.m. struck the freeway’s center divider and his vehicle flipped on its side. It was immediately struck by a man driving a red SUV, which caused the silver car to flip several times and eject that car’s driver on the road, according to Onscene TV.

The silver SUV’S driver died at the scene and the red SUV’S driver was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center for treatment. His condition is unknown, Onscene TV reported.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com

Pacific Beach carjacking ends in crash, arrest of 2

San Diego police arrested two men, including a juvenile, in a carjacking incident that ended in a pursuit and crash into a fire hydrant.

The incident began around 8:45 p.m. Friday when a 23-year-old man in a 2019 Corvette was in the cul de sac at 700 Hornblend St. A man opened the passenger door, got inside, pointed a gun at the driver and told him to drive off, according to police.

After driving a few blocks the suspect ordered the man to stop. The driver got out of the car and the man drove off with the vehicle. Some time later, the Corvette was spotted back at the 700 Hornblend location, and when police approached, the car sped away.

Police pursued, and after about a mile the Corvette crashed into a fire hydrant on Oliver Avenue near Haines Street, ending the pursuit. Police said two people in the car were arrested, and one was a juvenile.

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com