A UPS driver was fatally shot Thursday while inside his parked van in an industrial area of Irvine, according to police.
The Irvine Police Department said a man was shot near Chrysler and Bendix streets around 3 p.m. About three and a half hours later, a SWAT team detained a suspect, police said.
The suspect drove alongside the UPS driver and fired several shots at his truck, the sergeant said. said Karie Davies. Neither the driver nor the suspect exited their vehicles.
Police said there was no evidence that it was a robbery and it is possible that the UPS driver was the target.
“He literally pulled up next to the UPS truck, shot it and took off,” Davies said. “It seems like it was targeted, but we don't know the relationship yet.”
Davies said authorities found the victim, whose name has not yet been released, slumped in the driver's seat. The man was announced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told authorities they recognized the UPS driver and that he was on his usual route. The spot where he was parked was where he would stop and have lunch, they said.
aerial images of the arrest A SWAT team was shown boxing in a silver van on KABC-TV Channel 7. A K-9 was released into the truck to attempt to remove the suspect from the vehicle. Finally, the officers removed the man.
“Ultimately they had to force him out of the vehicle with SWAT techniques,” Davies said. “As far as I know, he is in our custody.”
