Man fatally shot in Fairfield identified
Jose Cortes, 20, was shot in front of a Fairfield convenience store late Thursday evening.
(Image via Facebook.com)
A man who was fatally shot in front of a Fairfield convenience store on Thursday has been identified as 20-year-old Jose “Chepo” Cortes.
The name was confirmed by a source who spoke with Solano News Update on condition of anonymity and subsequently verified against social media posts published by his family on Friday.
Police were dispatched to the 1200 block of Horizon Drive around 11:15 p.m. Thursday after receiving reports that a man had been shot.
According to an eyewitness, a Hispanic man in a green, four-door Honda sedan drove up to a crowd of people outside the mini-mart and asked, “Do you bang?”
An argument ensued between the man and the group, according to eyewitnesses. The conflict peaked when the driver of the Honda fired several shots from a gun, then fled toward Air Base Parkway.
Friends of Cortes transported him to a nearby hospital where officers were standing by. One officer said Cortes suffered from at least two gunshot wounds. Cortes later died from his injuries.
Shortly after the incident, police detained three individuals at the hospital for questioning. The men were interviewed and released early Friday morning, according to a police source.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible case of gang violence, the source said.
Crime scene investigators processed the scene at the mini-mart overnight and are reviewing surveillance video collected from that business and others nearby for clues about the suspect involved in the shooting. As of Friday evening, police had not made an arrest in the case.
(Update: Following this report, the Fairfield Police Department confirmed the identity of the shooting victim in a social media update Saturday afternoon.)
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