Navy IDs 18-Year-Old Sailor Fatally Shot in East Village; Suspect Search Continues

The U.S. Navy Monday confirmed the identity of an 18-year-old man who was fatally shot over the weekend after an altercation at a nightclub in the East Village.

Albert Lee Soto was an operations specialist seaman apprentice at Naval Base San Diego, said Brian O’Rourke, a Naval spokesman.

A New York state resident, Soto was assigned to the U.S.S. Pickney, O’Rourke said. Soto reported to San Diego in April, after enlisting last October.

“We mourn the loss of Albert Soto,” O’Rourke said. “Our thoughts are with the sailor’s family, friends and shipmates.”

Officers responded around 12:50 a.m. Saturday to a report of multiple gunshots fired in the area of Ninth Street and F Street, according to the San Diego Police Department.

“An officer working in the area also heard the shots and responded to the intersection,” the department reported in a statement. “Once there, the officer located a man on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound.”

The man was taken to a hospital, where he died shortly afterward, police said.

Detectives indicated that the victim had been involved in an altercation with a group of men inside a nightclub several blocks away prior to the shooting. They were working to determine if the two altercations were related.

The suspects were described as four men wearing mostly dark clothing, last seen running eastbound on F Street, officials said.

Authorities urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call the SDPD at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this article.