Escondido Shooting: 1 Injured, 1 Suspect Arrested

ESCONDIDO, CA -- A man was in custody Saturday after a shooting in a parking lot in Escondido. About 9 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a report of a gunshot heard near the 1500 block of South Juniper St., according to Lt. Mark Petersen of the Escondido Police Department.

Officers were unable to find any sign of a shooting, Petersen said, but about 10-15 minutes after it was reported, employees at Palomar Medical Center contacted police to inform them a gunshot victim was at the hospital.

Petersen said officers then returned to the area where the gunshot was reported and were able to find a witness to the shooting, determined to have occurred in the parking lot of an apartment complex at 1580 S. Juniper Street.

After an investigation, officers identified a specific apartment believed to be associated with the shooting.
While police waited for a warrant to search the apartment, a suspect returned to the scene and was arrested. That suspect was identified as 23-year- old Rene Alfaro.

Petersen said the victim -- identified as a 20-year-old man -- was taken into surgery for a gunshot wound to the chest immediately after arriving at the hospital Friday.

He remained in critical condition Saturday.

--City News Service/Photo via Shutterstock