UPDATED: Oxnard police investigate fatal shooting discovered after crash

Gretchen Wenner
Ventura County Star

Oxnard police were investigating a homicide Friday morning after responding to an incident first reported as a traffic accident in a southwest neighborhood.

Reports of a crash came in around 9:05 a.m. in the 1400 block of West Hemlock Street, east of Ventura Road. A white Mercedes-Benz sedan had crashed into two parked vehicles, according to the Oxnard Police Department. 

Firefighters reported finding a victim down at the scene. Emergency medical personnel believed the victim, later described as a man in his mid 20s, may have had gunshot wounds, although that was not immediately confirmed at the scene.

The man was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center and pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m. Authorities later confirmed he had suffered at least one gunshot wound to his upper torso, said police Cmdr. Luis McArthur.

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As of midday, no gunfire damage had been found on the vehicle itself. Police believe the victim was shot elsewhere and was driving away when he apparently lost consciousness before the crash.

Officers were actively searching for the crime scene where the victim had been shot, McArthur said. No suspects had been identified.

The fatality was Oxnard's third homicide of the year.

Detectives from the major and violent crime units gathered on Hemlock Friday morning. The road was taped off in both directions east of Ventura Road. Hemlock Street borders the Bartolo Square South and Bartolo Square North neighborhoods, near Oxnard's boundary with Port Hueneme.

The Mercedes remained as it had been discovered earlier, askew in the roadway, with the car's front end jammed against the front of a parked Toyota. Debris from the crash littered the impact zone.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Sunia at 805-385-7760.Photos or video of the incident can be uploaded directly for investigators at https://oxnardpd.evidence.com/axon/citizen/public/1400westhemlock.

A white sedan remained on scene as Oxnard police detectives investigated what turned out to be a homicide on West Hemlock Street Friday morning, April 16, 2021.

Gretchen Wenner covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at gretchen.wenner@vcstar.com or 805-437-0270.

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