Police still searching for leads after Merced man shot in front of children

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police tape and patrol cars covered an apartment complex in Merced Friday night after a 34-year-old man was shot and killed in front of the steps leading to his home.

They've identified the victim as Jose Mireles, and police say he was shot in front of his young children, and no arrests have been made yet.

"The oldest is six years old, he's going to remember," Sgt. Curt Gorman with the Merced Police Department said. "He viewed some of the events."

Gorman says the call came in for shots fired along San Mateo Court, and he says there were four to five people who confronted the victim, then one pulled out a gun and shot Mireles several times.

"What we have so far is that there was a verbal and possibly physical altercation preceding the shooting, and the deceased in this case was involved in an argument," he said.

No one in the neighborhood would speak with us, but neighbors were still visibly distraught from the incident. Authorities say they often get calls for service to that area and this shooting may have involved gang members.

"Our victim is originally from the Gilroy area, and he had previously been involved with gangs," Gorman explained. "But, as of recently, he has not been involved that we were aware of."

A GoFundMe page for the victim was set up to help with the family's funeral arrangements. Mireles was also a Walmart employee, and his coworkers say they're working on finding a way to raise money to help the family during this time.

Police say the investigation is ongoing, and they say shell casings were recovered at the scene but not the handgun.

The family set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses.