Teen Fatally Shot in Front of Crowded Fountain Valley Studio

FOUNTAIN VALLEY —  A 17-year-old was shot repeatedly in front of a crowded karaoke studio early Saturday in a fatal attack that police said appeared to be gang-related.

The shooting was the first homicide this year in Fountain Valley.

The victim, whose name was not released pending notification of his relatives, was standing with a group of people in the parking lot of Elvis Karaoke Studios, 18914 Brookhurst St., when the shooting occurred at 12:50 a.m.

“The victim and his friends attempted to get into the karaoke studio, but it was so busy that night that they had to turn around,” said Sgt. Dann Bean. “They were attempting to leave when the shooting took place.”

Witnesses told police that three people in a light-colored Toyota Celica drove up to the studio’s parking lot and provoked a confrontation.

They said a male passenger wearing a yellow bandanna over his face got out of the car, waved a gun around, yelled a gang name and exchanged words with the victim before opening fire, Bean said.

At least six bullets were fired, and the victim was struck in the torso, the abdomen, hand and calf. His companions took the teen-ager to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, where he died a short time later. No one else was injured in the attack, although several people were standing near the victim.

The assailants drove away after the shooting and remain at large.

Police detectives, who were alerted by hospital officials about the shooting, interviewed people at the hospital and at the shooting scene, but the investigation has been hampered by “extremely uncooperative witnesses,” Bean said.

“We started rounding up as many people as we could, but we weren’t able to find out much of anything,” he said.

Bean said the shooting has the trademarks of the drive-by shooting typical of Asian gangs. The shooter typically steps out of the car and makes contact with the victim before firing.

Law enforcement officials consider these shootings to be potentially more threatening to the general population than drive-by shootings committed by Latino gangs because Asian gangs don’t claim neighborhoods, so the shootings can occur anywhere.

Last year, a similar drive-by shooting occurred at the Family Fun Center in Fountain Valley. A gunman fired six shots into a crowd and injured three teen-agers.

“These were similar situations, where the gunman gets out of the car and fires in a public place,” Bean said.