A man is dead after he was fatally shot during an alleged altercation in a Garden Grove neighborhood on Thursday, leaving residents frightened and shocked.
Around 2:50 p.m., Garden Grove officers responded to reports of a person down on the sidewalk on the 10000 Block of Katella Avenue. When they arrived, they found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. An investigation revealed that an altercation occurred and led to the shooting.
Sebastian Bona, who lives nearby, heard the moment when shots rang out in front of his home, just before 3 p.m. Moments before the shooting, Bona and his brother noticed a man sitting on the sidewalk who looked out of place and called the police. As they waited for officers to arrive, they saw a neighbor who was walking his dog and pushing a jogging stroller walk up to the disheveled man and exchange words with him.
“And then we just hear bang bang bang and we looked at each other like, ‘No way,’” Bona said. “I go out, I see the man on the floor. He has blood coming out of his chest. I see he has blood coming out of his mouth.”
Bona says he ran outside to find the neighbor pacing nervously while on the phone. He says he knows his neighbor to be a nice man who walks his dogs all the time.
“The only words he said was, ‘He tried to attack me, so I shot him,’” Bona recounted. “Those are the only words that he uttered.”
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police say the man remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators. Officers later recovered a firearm.
Other residents are stunned that a shooting happened in their otherwise quiet neighborhood.
“It’s really unreal because I never see anything like this happen here,” said Ana Ventura, who lives nearby. “It shocks me, actually.”
“I’m just sad at what it has come to,” Bona said. “I remember years before, we never had any of this, and now all of a sudden it has just gotten really bad. It’s just really disappointing to see.”
It is unclear if the shooting victim was homeless or if the alleged shooter had a concealed weapons permit, according to authorities. The investigation is ongoing.