Man is shot in the foot, assaulted in Costa Mesa

Residents of a Costa Mesa apartment complex awoke Thursday to the sound of several gunshots early in the morning, police said. Apparently around 3:30 a.m. a man parked in the front lot of the Wimbledon Glen Apartments in the 1100 block of South Coast Drive had been assaulted and shot in the foot, police said.

The man, who does not live in the complex, told police that he was sitting in his car when two men assaulted him. As he drove off in his car, one of the men fired several shots, hitting the car and striking him once in the foot, Sgt. Marty Carver said.

Tenants of the complex called police after hearing three to four shots, but police found nothing at the scene when they arrived, Carver said. Later that morning police received a call from the man who was shot and had driven himself to the emergency room at an Irvine hospital where he was treated and released, police said.

The man suffered a gunshot wound through his right foot, police said.

Police returned to the complex and searched the parking lot, finding four bullet casings and glass on the ground but no gun. Investigators also found two bullets inside the victim’s vehicle, Carver said.

The victim was unclear if he was being robbed, or if he had surprised the attackers during an attempted vehicle burglary, police said.

— Kelly Strodl