The name of the man fatally wounded during a shooting near the Santa Ynez Riverbed on Wednesday morning has been released as Lompoc police detectives continue to investigate three shootings that occurred in a span of less than 48 hours.
Marcelino Madrigal, 46, a transient with ties to Lompoc, was pronounced dead on Wednesday at a homeless encampment near the riverbed in the 1800 block of North H Street.
The motive for the shooting remained unknown on Friday, according to Sgt. Vincent Magallon from the Lompoc Police Department Detective’s Bureau.
The victim had multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
Detectives were continuing to collect video from nearby businesses as they worked to identify the suspect responsible for the shooting.
Witnesses claimed the suspect had fled from the area on a bike.
Family members started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses, with more than $1,600 raised toward the $15,000 goal as of Friday evening.
“My brother was a loving and caring human being and who further more didn’t deserve to have his life taken in such a way,” Juanita Chavarin wrote on the GoFundMe page.
The killing of Madrigal was one of three unsolved shootings in 48 hours in Lompoc.
On Monday, a 17-year-old boy received critical injuries in a shooting shortly after 9 p.m. in the alley between the 400 block of North N and North O streets, police said.
The boy was shot one time and remained hospitalized on Friday, Magallon said. Detectives believe the shooting was linked to gang activity.
Two days later, a boy standing near a food truck in the 700 block of West Laurel Avenue was wounded in another nighttime shooting.
Police were seeking information about two suspects seen fleeing the area shortly after the 7:30 p.m. shooting.
The 12-year-old boy was an innocent bystander struck by one of the bullets, Magallon said. While the victim does not have any gang affiliations, police were investigating whether the suspects have gang ties that might have prompted the shooting.
Another shooting on Wednesday has been deemed a suicide after a suspect involved in a robbery turned the gun on himself when he was confronted by police.
Detectives have been investigating the three other shootings, but said they don’t appear to be related.
“Hopefully we’ll have some good news, but we’re working at it,” Magallon said.
Members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department have assisted Lompoc police this week.
In response to public concerns about the latest shootings, Mayor Jenelle Osborne said she was kept awake trying to come up with answers to questions about what the community could do to quell the violence.
“The uptick in violence and the loss we are experiencing is saddening and frustrating to all of us,” Osborne said. “We are working very hard to staff our police department so that we can return the gang task force and we can return the drug enforcement (task) force and be proactive. Until that happens, community policing needs us to be supportive and observant and willing to report crime to our officers. It’s something we need to do all the time, but especially right now.”
Anyone with information about the shootings can contact Lompoc police at 805.736.2341. Information can also be provided via the Lompoc Police Department’s mobile app.
— 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.
