East Village homicide victim identified as 18-year-old Navy sailor (original) (raw)

The Navy on Monday confirmed the identity of an 18-year-old man who was fatally shot over the weekend after an altercation in the East Village.

Albert Lee Soto was an operations specialist seaman apprentice at Naval Base San Diego, said Brian O’Rourke, a Naval spokesperson.

A New York state resident, Soto was assigned to the USS Pickney, O’Rourke said. Soto reported to San Diego in April, after enlisting last October.

“We mourn the loss of Albert Soto,” O’Rourke said. “Our thoughts are with the sailor’s family, friends and shipmates.”

Officers responded around 12:50 a.m. Saturday to a report of multiple gunshots fired in the area of Ninth and F streets, according to San Diego police.

“An officer working in the area also heard the shots and responded to the intersection,” the department said in a statement. “Once there, the officer located a man on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound.”

The victim died at a hospital.

Detectives said that the victim had been involved in an altercation with a group of men inside a nightclub several blocks away before the shooting. They were working to determine whether the fight was related to his death.

Police did not have descriptions of the four men suspected of being involved in the shooting.

Authorities asked anyone with information to call homicide investigators at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477.

Originally Published: September 2, 2024 at 6:02 PM PST