SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Department has released the names of those injured in the fatal shooting spree in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Justice Boldin, 28, was killed in the shooting. He was working as a valet for ACE Parking at the Pendry Hotel when the suspect shot and killed him without provocation Thursday, April 22.
The injured males have also been identified. Vincent Gazzani, 27, is a resident of Perrineville, New Jersey and sustained serious gunshot injuries to his upper body. Gazzani remains hospitalized in stable condition. His dad tells News 8,
"He is doing better and we are focused on him right now."
Steven Ely, 68, is resident of San Diego and remains hospitalized in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his torso. His wife Linda tells News 8,
"Steven is in the Trauma ICU area at UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest. He has had two surgeries so far. A lot of organs were affected by the wound. If all goes well he will be out of the hospital in two weeks. I am thankful to all those people for their bravery and courage who helped save him. Doctors say the bullet will stay in him after he heals. It is safer not to remove it. He is a retired teacher from the Poway District."
Alexander Balis, 26, lives in Mullica Hill, New Jersey and has been released from the hospital after being treated for a gunshot wound to his arm.
By phone, he told News 8 he wasn't ready to talk about what happened, and is already back home in New Jersey.
Jatil Kodati, 28, lives in Jersey City, New Jersey and was treated at the scene for a gunshot injury to his arm.
The suspect in Thursday's shooting has been identified by police as 32-year-old Travis Sarreshteh of San Diego. Sarreshteh was using a so-called "ghost gun," according to police: a firearm that is self-assembled using a legally-procured kit without any serial number to trace it.
"A 9mm handgun was recovered from the suspect," Chief Nisleit said at a press conference Friday afternoon, later confirming "It was a ghost gun or unserialized firearm."
News 8 has learned that Sarreshteh's criminal past centers on firearms.
He is currently on probation for a 2019 misdemeanor conviction of carrying a concealed weapon. Following his guilty plea in that case, Sarreshteh was ordered to attend a special firearms program by the court.
Court records also show that he has an active warrant for his arrest in San Diego county for operating as a security guard without a license.
Sarreshteh now faces far more serious felony charges: one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, May 3.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.