San Diego homicide investigators on Wednesday identified a man suspected to have been targeted and fatally shot in a University City parking garage as a Mexican national.
Christian Espinoza Silver, 35, was shot multiple times Saturday night along with another unidentified 39-year-old man while the two were sitting in a car on Nobel Drive and Lombard Place, police Lt. Jud Campbell said in a news release.
According to investigators, the men were driving into the apartment complex parking garage around 8:40 p.m. when a gunman walked up to the car and opened fire, Campbell said.
The shooter ran away, heading west. He was described as wearing a camouflage jacket, black pants and a black backpack.
Officers arrived and found Espinoza lying wounded in the street. The other man was found near the shot-up car. Both were taken to the hospital, where Espinoza died.
Campbell said the other victim was stable at the hospital as of Wednesday.
“Based on the information gathered so far, it does appear that this was a targeted attack,” Campbell said.
Investigators did not provide any further details, including where Espinoza lived.
On Monday, the Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias in Tijuana cited unofficial sources in a news story that said Espinoza went by the alias “El Chato” and was the son of Raúl Silver Quintana, a figure reputedly connected to the Arellano Félix Cartel.
The father was shot and killed by a group of hooded men at Mezzanine Hall in Tijuana in 2005, El Universal reported at the time.
During a press conference Tuesday, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit acknowledged the Mexican media report but declined to confirm any details.
“The only thing I’ll say is I’m aware of that information, as are our investigators, and that’s obviously part of the investigation,” Nisleit said, when asked about the news report. “But I will not go into the investigation and what we know. It’s way too premature to talk about that at this time.”
Baja California Attorney General María Elena Andrade Ramírez said in a news conference in Tijuana Tuesday that she did not have information about whether the killing involved people operating in Tijuana but would help U.S. officials in their investigation if asked.
Nisleit said San Diego police were investigating three homicides from over the weekend, including Espinoza’s death, but that the deaths are not believed to be connected.
Investigators asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
