A transgender victim was in stable condition Friday morning after being shot in the back in Garden Grove, police said.
The shooting occurred about 3 a.m., said Cmdr. Gonzalez with the Santa Ana Police Department confirmed.
The shooting victim entered a Circle K convenience store at the intersection of Westminster Avenue and Harbor Boulevard following the shooting and asked for help, said Mauricio Mendoza, an employee at the store who called 911.
Police arrived to find a transgender woman at the store with a gunshot wound to her back, Gonzalez said.
She was taken to a local hospital and was expected to survive, Gonzalez said.
The victim told police she was shot in the 1100 block of North Harbor Boulevard, a short distance from the store, but investigators could not find a crime scene, Gonzalez said, adding that the victim was being uncooperative.
The victim described her attacker only as a Hispanic man with a gray hat.
KTLA’s Irving Last and Alberto Mendez contributed to this report.