Three people were shot at a luxury Santa Ana apartment building Wednesday afternoon, leading officers to search the high-rise for more victims or gunmen, police said.
When officers responded to the shooting at 9 Macarthur Place after 3 p.m., they found a person with at least one gunshot wound on the first level near the garage, the Santa Ana Police Department said.
A person coming out of the elevator stumbled upon the scene, snapping a photo of two officers attending to someone down on the ground. He told KTLA he heard them asking the gunshot victim if he had shot anyone else before he directed them to the 15th floor.
On the 15th floor, officers found a second shooting victim, police said. A third victim was later located, but it’s unclear where.
Officers locked down the building and swept through the hallways, uncertain if there was a gunman still inside the building, or if there were more wounded victims in need of help.
“Obviously, we don’t want to leave the building, and then somebody finds additional victims. So we’re slowly and methodically checking the building, both buildings, for victims and or suspects,” Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Residents described officers going into all the units in the building, which is made up of two towers.
The shooting drew a heavy police response, with at least 20 police cruisers and an ambulance seen outside, aerial video from Sky5 showed.
No information was available on the identities or conditions of the three gunshot victims.
Residents were urged to stay away from the area.
No further details were immediately available.
Check back for updates on this developing story.