Search Underway for Oceanside Teens' Killers

A search was under way today for the assailants who shot four teenagers, killing two of them, at a North County park with a history of deadly gang violence.

Patrol officers responding to reports of gunfire at Libby Lake Park in northern Oceanside found the victims -- three boys and a girl, ranging in age from 13 to 17 -- shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to police. The female victim and one of the boys died at the scene.

Medics took the other two wounded youths to hospitals, where one was admitted in critical condition and the other in stable condition, Lt. Aaron Doyle said.

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The names of the victims were withheld "because of their ages and due to the ongoing investigation," the lieutenant said.

Following the gunshots, witnesses described seeing several men or teenage boys in dark clothing fleeing in a gray or silver 2005 or 2006 Toyota Tacoma or Tundra extended-cab pickup truck, according to Doyle.

The motive for the attack was under investigation. There was no "solid evidence" that it was gang-related, the lieutenant said

The shooting occurred near a makeshift memorial for two teens gunned down in a gang assault nearly two years ago.

Late on the night of May 3, 2011, Sandra Salgado, 14, and her boyfriend, 16-year-old Fernando Solano, were slain on a hillside at the park near the San Luis Rey River.

Three documented gang members await trial on double-murder charges for the killings. The 20-year-old alleged gunman faces a possible death sentence if convicted, and the others are in line for potential terms of life in prison.

A fourth defendant pleaded guilty late last year to being an accessory after the fact in the case.

The accused shooter's girlfriend testified during a court hearing that the slayings were an act of revenge for an attack on one of her boyfriend's gang cohorts days earlier.

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