Escondido Crime Blotter

• Escondido Police are investigat­ing a midnight shooting of a man gunned down with a shot to the head early Wednesday morning a short distance from Peterson’s Donuts. The shooting may be related to gang ac­tivities, according to police.

On Wednesday, at about 12:30 a.m., Escondido police officers re­sponded to a reported shooting in the area of Escondido Blvd. and 9th Ave. When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive 27-year-old man lying in the roadway.

The victim appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to the head. He was transported to Palo­mar Medical Center, where he later died. The victim’s identity is be­ing withheld pending notification of family.

Witnesses in the area at the time who were buying donuts saw the man walking south on Escondido Blvd. just before the shooting. The suspect was seen exiting a car, fired multiple shots at the victim before entering the car and fleeing, police said.

The car fled west through the south alley of 9th Ave. The sus­pect was described as a male wear­ing a gray hooded sweatshirt. The car was described as a white older model compact four-door car, sim­ilar to a Honda Civic, or Toyota Corolla type vehicle. The car is believed to have been occupied by four people, police said.

The motivation for the shoot­ing is currently being investigated. Early indications have pointed de­tectives to the incident possibly be­ing gang related.

Since the shooting occurred near several businesses, police are reportedly viewing surveillance recordings to get a better idea of what happened.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Es­condido Police at 760-839-4722, or call the Anonymous Tip Line at 760-743-TIPS (8477).