SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego Police have identified the four people injured in a deadly shooting in the Gaslamp Quarter last week.
Police said 27-year-old Vincent Gazzani, of Perrineville, N.J.; 68-year-old Steven Ely, of San Diego; 26-year-old Alexander Balis, of Mullica Hill, N.J.; and 28-year-old Jatil Kodati, of Jersey City, N.J., were injured by gunfire after a man opened fire in two separate shootings in downtown on April 22.
According to police, Gazzani was shot in his upper body and is still hospitalized in stable condition; Ely was shot in the torso and is hospitalized in stable condition; Balis has since been released from the hospital after being shot in the arm; and Kodati was treated at the scene and released after being shot in the arm.
The four injured are all expected to fully recover.
SDPD also confirmed the lone death in the shootings as 28-year-old Justice Boldin, a valet working at the Pendry San Diego on J Street.
GoFundMe campaigns set up for the victims of the shooting:
Justice Boldin: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ghmyqg-in-loving-memory-of-justice-boldin
Steven Ely: https://www.gofundme.com/f/steven-elys-medical-expenses
Last Thursday, police say 32-year-old Travis Sarreshteh, of San Diego, walked up to Boldin outside the Pendry hotel and shot him. Police add that Sarreshteh then "began to walk away, but quickly turned and fired again at the victim."
Following that shooting, Sarreshteh then walked to the 500 block of Fifth Avenue, near Island Ave., and confronted a group of people standing outside before opening fire on them, injuring four.
"He was just walking by them, kind of in a bad mood and it was kind of like a shoulder brush, and then right after that he was saying, ‘You guys having a good time?’ And that's when he pulled out a gun and he started shooting ... before they even had a chance to react or say a word, that's when the guy pulled out the gun and started shooting," said Alex Kelly, who witnesses the shooting.
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Several witnesses chased Sarreshteh as he fled northbound on Fifth Ave., police said. He was tackled by two citizens, who held him until police could arrive. When officers arrived, police say that Sarreshteh was still struggling and an officer deployed a Taser on him. He was then taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries sustained by the Taser and being tackled.
SDPD Chief David Nisleit said last week that a 9mm unserialized "ghost gun" was recovered from Sarreshteh at the scene and that the shootings appeared completely unprovoked. He has been booked into jail on one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder. Nisleit added that he's not known to officers but has a criminal history.
Nisleit also thanked the two citizens for their heroism to take down Sarreshteh and hold him until police arrived. He also thanked another citizen, a former combat medic, for rendering first aid to one of the injured victims.
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