SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A young man died during a memorial gathering at San Diego’s Chicano Park Monday evening, and several people among the crowd threw bottles and other objects at police officers who responded to the incident.
Just after 10 p.m., San Diego Police said they received reports of a possible shooting at the park in the 2000 block of National Avenue.
According to police, responding officers arrived to find “a group of community members placing a male in the back of a pickup truck. The officers discovered the man had sustained obvious trauma to his torso and was unresponsive.”
Officers attempted life-saving measures before the victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. The victim, identified by police as a 19-year-old Hispanic male, died at the hospital. The manner of the man’s death was not immediately known.
SDPD’s Homicide Unit is handling the investigation into the man’s death. Police said, “Little is known about the circumstances leading to the man’s death. Although there was a group of people gathered in the park at the time, no pertinent witnesses have come forward. Investigators are still in the process of gathering evidence and attempting to locate witnesses.”
ABC 10News learned the incident occurred near the site of a memorial vigil that was being held Monday night for a teenager killed last year.
During the response to the reported shooting, police said that “a large group of people began to gather, upset about the incident. Additional police resources had to be called to protect the crime scene.”
At one point, some members of the gathering pelted officers with trash, bottles, and other items. Police officials said officers used pepper balls to disperse the crowd.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
