SANTA ANA : Police Hunt for Clues in Motorist’s Slaying

Police had few leads Monday in the fatal weekend shooting of a Lake Forest man.

Investigators said they do not know who shot Gabriel J. Tennet, 21, as he drove along West Segerstrom Avenue in Santa Ana at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Tennet died later at UCI Medical Center in Orange from a single gunshot wound, police said.

A passenger was not injured.

Police said they were interviewing residents but had no suspects or motive.

Tennet, a former football player at Woodbridge High School in Irvine, picked up a friend at the corner of West Segerstrom Avenue and Bristol Street just before the shooting, Lt. Robert Helton said. As Tennet drove away, a bullet pierced the rear windshield and struck him in the head, Helton said.

Passenger Brian Garcia “heard a gunshot, looked over and saw Tennet slumped in the driver’s seat,” Helton said. Garcia grabbed the steering wheel and guided the Toyota to a stop, then ran to a nearby house to call police.

Helton said it was unclear whether the shot came from a compact car behind Tennet’s or was fired by someone standing on the street.

Tennet, who graduated in 1992, was a “real positive kid on the football team,” Assistant Principal Tom Nelson said.