SAN DIEGO – San Diego homicide investigators have identified a man suspected of being targeted and fatally shot in a University City parking garage as a Mexican national. Christian Espinoza Silver, 35, was shot multiple times on Saturday night along with another unidentified 39-year-old man while sitting in a car on Nobel Drive and Lombard Place, according to police Lt. Jud Campbell.
The two men were driving into the apartment complex parking garage around 8:40 p.m. when a gunman walked up to the car and opened fire, Campbell said. The shooter then fled the scene. Espinoza was found wounded in the street, and the other man was located near the shot-up car. Both were taken to the hospital, where Espinoza later died. The other man remains in stable condition.
“The only thing I’ll say is I’m aware of that information, as are our investigators, and that’s obviously part of the investigation,” Nisleit said, when asked about the news report. “But I will not go into the investigation and what we know. It’s way too premature to talk about that at this time.”
The Mexican media reported that Espinoza went by the alias “El Chato” and was the son of Raúl Silver Quintana, a figure connected to the Arellano Félix Cartel. His father was shot and killed in Tijuana in 2005.
San Diego police are also investigating three homicides from over the weekend, including Espinoza’s death, but they do not believe the deaths are connected.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the homicide unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.