In a string of violent incidents that have shaken Costa Mesa, California, police have recently made arrests in a shooting that occurred close to a memorial for a young man murdered just days before. According to KTLA, the shooting took place in the early hours of Friday, near the 1700 block of Placentia Avenue, where evidence of gunfire was found but no victims or suspects were immediately located.

Within an hour of the reports, a hospital informed the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) that a man had arrived seeking treatment for a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening. As reported by the Costa Mesa Police Department, the suspects in the shooting as 19-year-old Eric Garcilazo and 20-year-old Elmer Suarez-Morales. Suarez-Morales was taken into custody during a traffic stop without incident while Garcilazo evaded initial arrest but was later found and detained with the aid of SWAT, a drone team, and the K9 Unit.

These incidents followed a separate but possibly linked act of violence, where one man was fatally stabbed and another injured on the same street just days earlier. The stabbings are suspected by authorities to have gang ties and are part of a larger pattern of violence that has prompted community concern and an intensification of local police investigations. As per Hoodline, "CMPD investigators believe the same suspect(s) were involved in both incidents and are possibly gang-related," as stated by the official press release.

CMPD continues to probe both the shooting and the stabbings, urging anyone with relevant information to come forward. Those with knowledge of the incidents are encouraged to contact Gang Investigations Sergeant Matt Selinske at 714-754-5093, as per the CMPD's outreach to the public.