A 19-year-old man has been identified as the person who died following shootings at a Guadalupe residence that left another man injured on Dec. 22.
Jesus Felipe Garcia Jr. of Guadalupe passed away after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, according to Raquel Zick, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Guadalupe police officers were dispatched at 10:30 p.m. Dec. 22 to a report of shots fired on the 1000 block of Escalante Street in the city.
A 23-year-old man had been shot three times, suffering non-life-threatening injuries in the chest and arm, police said.
A Calstar medical helicopter landed at Mary Buren School in Guadalupe to pick up the wounded man, whose name was not released, and flew him to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital
That man’s father, who also was not identified, told police that two men arrived at the home and were having a conversation with his son outside.
A fight ensued, and one of the suspects displayed a handgun, pointing it at the son
The father pulled his son inside the home and closed the front door.
However, the suspects forced entry into the residence and shot the son, who was sitting on the living room couch, twice in the chest and once in the arm, police said.
The father retrieved a gun he had in the home and fired several shots at the suspects, believing he may have hit them.
The two suspects fled from the area in a 2003 silver Chevy truck, according to the father, and dispatchers alerted police to look for the vehicle.
Santa Maria police spotted the truck at the western edge of the city, reportedly on West Main Street near Hanson Way, with one man inside suffering from gunshot wounds.
That man, identified as Garcia, was transported to Marian Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
Sheriff’s Office investigators have remained mum about the incident until Wednesday, a week after the shootings.
The identity and the condition of the injured 23-year-old man is not yet available for release, Zick said Wednesday.
“The circumstances, including determining if this is gang-related, are part of the ongoing investigation,” she added.
Police initially said one person had been taken into custody, but Zick said Wednesday that no arrests had been made.
The official cause of death for Garcia was pending a finalized autopsy report, Zick said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.