Investigation into shooting continues

Deepa Bharath

Police are still looking for the man who they say shot and killed a

20-year-old Santa Ana man on Saturday afternoon in a Westside alley.

Ferdinand Eugenio Zamudio-Saucedo was hanging out with a few

friends when he was shot in the chest after a brief argument with a

passerby, police said.

The alleged shooter took off on foot and neighbors called the

police, officials said.

On Monday, Costa Mesa police detectives were still questioning

witnesses, Sgt. Loren Wyrick said.

“There were many people there, and investigators are still piecing

the information together,” he said.

No arrests have been made in connection with the murder. Police

have a sketchy description of the suspect. They believe he is about

5-foot-5, of medium build and between 20 and 30 years old. They are

not clear if the shooting was random or if the shooter had a motive.

The shooting happened right across from Wilson Elementary School.

Principal Candy Sperling said she is relieved that the incident

did not happen on a school day.

“But it is very unfortunate,” she said. “We’re sorry this happened

in this community. I hope it hadn’t happened.”

Sperling said attendance was normal on Monday and no classes were

canceled because of the shooting.

“We have all of our safety procedures in place,” she said. “We

have regular intruder and fire drills to prepare our children for

such situations.”

Sperling added that she has not ruled out providing counseling for

students and having discussions about the incident.

“Every time something bad happens in our community or in the

world, like Sept. 11, we talk about it,” she said. “We teach our kids

to be responsible and tell them about the consequences of making bad

choices.”

School librarian Nancy Johnson said she “is very concerned for the

parents and the children.”

“This happened right here in front of the school,” she said. “It

could’ve happened on a school day, when the children could have seen

it.”

Johnson said she was not at the school when the incident occurred,

but a few teachers were on campus.

“We need to stop this from happening again,” she said. “The

community needs to come together to stop something like this from

happening again.”

Anyone with information about Saturday’s shooting is asked to call

the Costa Mesa Police Department at (714) 754-5356.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].