Gunfire reported, shells found along Eastside street

Costa Mesa police are investigating reports of gunfire from a small-caliber handgun early Thursday morning in the Eastside.

Police received emergency calls around 4 a.m. of possible shots fired along the 1900 block of Santa Ana Avenue, Lt. Greg Scott said Monday.

Officers responded and canvassed the area, but were initially unable to locate any suspects or evidence of gunfire, Scott said.

By 9 a.m. that day, police located and recovered 11 spent, small-caliber bullet casings, found along either side of Santa Ana Avenue’s 1900 and 2000 block.

Scott said two bullets struck the east wall of one Santa Ana Avenue home in the 1900 block. Another bullet hit a fence near that home, he said.

No injuries were reported and no arrests made.

Eastside resident Bart Genovese said he heard a commotion around 3:45 a.m. Thursday.

“It sounded like lightning, right over my bedroom,” he said. “That’s what got me to jump up and walk outside.”

Another neighbor told Genovese that she thought she heard one man or multiple men, laughing and shooting off fireworks.

Genovese said he was glad no one was hurt, but was dismayed that the shooter, or shooters, remain at large.

“I can’t believe that someone can fire a gun in this city and get away with it,” Genovese said.