Santa Ana College reopens after car crashes onto campus, driver fatally shot
Santa Ana College was closed for much of the day Monday, Sept. 16, after a car crashed into a school parking lot and the driver was found shot multiple times and quickly died.
The college said it would reopen at 5 p.m. for the normal evening schedule.
Santa Ana College campus at 1530 W. 17th Street reopens at 5 p.m. TODAY, Sept. 16., and resumes a normal class schedule. All evening staff, faculty, and students should resume their normal schedule tonight. All other Santa Ana College off-site locations remain open today.
— Santa Ana College (@SantaAnaCollege) September 16, 2019
Police were investigating if the shooting led to the crash or the other way around, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. The law enforcement activity prompted closure of the campus for part of the day.
Just before 1 a.m., the man’s car went onto a curb near Bristol Street and Washington Avenue and came to rest atop hedges lining a campus parking lot.
Though first responders attempted to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Was there an accident, then a shooting? We’re trying to figure that out,” Bertagna said.
Officers searched the campus for a suspect. Bertagna said two persons of interest were detained in Long Beach but their involvement, if any, in the incident was unclear. Three others were also detained in Carson. However, no person had been formally arrested in connection with the shooting as of 6:30 p.m., Bertagna said.
The victim’s identity was not immediately released. Bertagna said he was “definitely not a gang member,” and there’s no indication the incident had anything to do with the campus other than it being the spot of the crash. A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.
Santa Ana police were working with campus officials to review surveillance video.
Detectives ask anyone with information to contact them at 714-245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at occrimestoppers.org.