A 19-year-old Santa Maria man was shot and killed on the 2000 block of North Lazo Way early Sept. 3. The homicide was Santa Maria’s second of the year.
Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) officers responded to reports of gunshots fired near North Lazo at about 12:40 a.m., according to a department press release. There, officers reportedly found Edward Jonathan Ramirez, who had been shot near the roadway. Officers were unable to resuscitate Ramirez, according to the release.
The department is still investigating the incident, according to the release, and no further information is available to the public. Anyone with information related to the shooting can call the Watch Commander’s Office at 928-3781, Ext. 2297.
The SMPD could not be reached for comment before the Sun’s press time.
The city’s first homicide of 2017 happened less than a month ago, when Konstantin Morozov allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife, Natalia Morozova, and fled with their 9-year-old son on Aug. 21. The escape prompted an Amber Alert, and Konstantin was quickly found and fatally shot by the Los Angeles Police Department. The child was safely recovered.
With only a third of 2017 left, this year’s homicide total hints at a steep decline in murder for Santa Maria since 2015, when the city experienced a total of 13 killings. The following year, according to SMPD crime statistics, Santa Maria saw nine homicides.
This article appears in Sep 7-14, 2017.
