Two Santa Ana Shooting Victims Identified by Police

SANTA ANA —  A man shot following a three-block car chase was in critical condition Sunday while the suspected gang members who attacked his car and killed another man over the weekend remained at large, police said.

Ramon Martinez, 26, of South Cypress Street was wounded, police said, and Thomas Rodriguez, 17, who lived on East Buffalo Street, was slain.

Santa Ana police said the incident started about 7:40 p.m. Saturday with a dispute between the passengers of two cars that were playing a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Occupants in the car giving chase fired at least 12 shots, some while the cars were still racing along city streets, police said.

During the chase, a third car was hit at Orange Avenue and Bishop Street, slightly injuring two bystanders, police said. But the chase continued for several blocks until the victims’ car crashed onto the lawn of a home on the 600 block of South Cypress Street.

Police said passengers from the other car started firing at the crashed vehicle, fatally shooting one man in the head.

Martinez, the second man in the crashed car, was shot several times in the back or side and was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, Sgt. Don Robertson said.

Robertson said investigators believe that gang members were involved in the attack, but no information was released on suspects in the case. “No arrests have been made,” Robertson added.