Two Found With Gunshot Wounds in Overturned Car in Westminster

Two men were found found shot and badly injured in an overturned car at an intersection in Westminster, and a man was later arrested in Costa Mesa and charged with attempted murder, police said Sunday

The two victims, whose names were not released, were hospitalized following the shootings and car crash, which were called in at 5:10 a.m. Saturday. One victim has serious injuries, the other was reported with stable life signs, said Westminster police Sgt. Cameron Knauerhaze.

It was not clear if the men were shot before or after the car they were in flipped over at Springdale and Ash streets, the sergeant said. That intersection is a busy corner, one block south of the San Diego (405) Freeway interchange at Westminster Boulevard and Springdale Street .

Ryan Paul McAlister, 27, was arrested a half day after the shootings, in Costa Mesa.

Westminster police got the "shots fired" call and reports of a crash, and on arriving found an overturned vehicle containing two men suffering from gunshot wounds, Knauerhaze said.

The suspect may have been driving by or was parked near the victims when the shooting occurred between the two vehicles, the officer explained.

Paramedics rushed both men to an area hospital, where one was listed in serious condition and the other in stable condition.

Later that day, "an alert Coast Mesa police officer spotted McAlister driving his vehicle in the 1800 block of Whittier Street in Costa Mesa, and was able to detained him until Westminster detectives arrived," Knauerhaze said.

"Detectives recovered a handgun from McAlister's vehicle," he said. "McAlister became a suspect in the case as detectives unraveled the early-morning events surrounding the shooting."

McAlister was booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and was held today on a $1 million bail.

"We are still investigating the relationship between McAlister and the victims of this case," Knauerhaze said. "We believe this is an isolated incident and not a random act of violence."

Westminster police detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the shooting attack to call them at (714) 898-3315.

– City News Service