LA MESA POLICE INVESTIGATE SHOOTING DEATH OF MAN IN PARKED CAR

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Update April 11, 2024 --The victim has been identified as Roderick Stroman, 42, of San Diego.
 
By Miriam Raftery
 
April 8, 2024 (La Mesa) – Responding to a call reporting a gunshot yesterday morning around 12:35 a.m., La Mesa Police officers found a black sedan parked in the 7100 block of Waite Drive with a shattered driver’s side window. They found an unresponsive man in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound to his upper torso.

 
“Officers immediately rendered first aid until paramedics arrived. Despite their life-saving efforts, the male was pronounced deceased at the scene,” says Lieutenant Kat Lynch.
 
The suspect was wearing a dark colored hoodie and fired a single shot at the victim before fleeing in a dark colored four-door sedan eastbound on Waite Drive, she said, adding, “The relationship between the suspect and the victim is unknown, but investigators do not believe this was a random act of violence. The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.” 
 
The identity of the victim, a man in his 40s, has not yet been released pending notification of family.
 
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the 7100 block of Waite Drive, between Massachusetts Avenue and Violet Street, was closed for several hours but has since re-opened. 
 
Anyone who was in the area at the time of this incident or anyone who has any information on this case is asked to call the La Mesa Police Department at (619) 667-1400. You may also call Crime Stoppers’ anonymous toll-free tip line (888) 580-TIPS (or www.sdcrimestoppers.com). You can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. 

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