Man May Have Been Killed by Mistake

ANAHEIM — A man who was shot and killed in his car outside a convenience store may have been mistaken by his attackers for someone else, police said Monday.

Nazario Nava, 22, died shortly after the shooting at 10:15 p.m. Sunday at 7-Eleven in the 200 block of Magnolia Avenue.

Police said several gang members pulled into the parking lot and went directly to the car where Nava was waiting for two friends who were in the store. One of the gang members walked to the car and began firing, police said. He then fled with his friends.

“There was no exchange of words or conversation or anything between the suspects and the victim as far as we can tell,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Joe Vargas said.

Police said that about 15 minutes earlier, the attacker and his friends had argued with people in a car that resembled Nava’s, near the intersection of Ball Road and Gilbert Street. What sparked that fight is unclear, but Sgt. Charlie Chavez said the drivers “yelled and chased each other around for a while.”

Police are trying to determine whether Nava, who had been arrested on suspicion of theft and vandalism, was known to the gunman, or whether the killer shot the wrong person.

“We don’t know whether he has any gang affiliations,” Vargas said. “But regardless of that, we don’t think he was involved in the first altercation, and that’s what seems to have led to this shooting.”

Investigators said they have identified the suspects but have not released their names. No arrests had been made by late Monday.

It was the second gang-related homicide in the city this year, police said.