SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Two men are injured and another is behind bars after a double shooting in La Jolla Wednesday.
The shootings happened within hours of each other and less than a mile apart. The first happened at about 3:00 a.m. in the 5700 block of Waverly Drive, the other just four hours later in the 1400 block of Cottontail Lane.
The suspected gunman, Hans Petersen, is behind bars at Central Jail, facing three attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting his estranged wife's brother and a former business partner.
Hans Petersen's brother told News 8 this is "totally out of character" for his sibling who, to his knowledge, never committed a violent act in his life.
"I do think that sane people do insane things," said Lori Clark Viviano, Bonnie Fletcher's Attorney.
La Jolla resident Hans Petersen, 49, allegedly went on a shooting spree early Wednesday morning, first shooting and wounding his neighbor and ex-business partner, 53-year-old Steven Cowdy. Then, less than a mile away, his (soon to be) former brother-in-law real estate broker Ron Fletcher. After being shot in the abdomen, Fletcher managed to wrestle the gun away from Peterson and struck him over the head with it, detaining him until police arrived.
"I think he's just blaming everybody for his own issues," said Viviano.
Viviano is representing Ron Fletcher's sister, Bonnie Fletcher, who is in the process of divorcing Hans Petersen.
She said Petersen may have been looking for his estranged wife and mistakenly believed she'd been staying with her brother, who was handling the sale of two of the couple's homes in Mission Beach.
"This has been a highly volatile case," Viviano added.
In court documents seeking a restraining order from Petersen, Bonnie Fletcher wrote that her husband had written a "death pact which involves my murder and his suicide" and also claimed Petersen "loads and unloads bullets into guns in anger while drunk, berating the person he thinks has crossed him."
In a rambling email obtained by News 8, entitled "Step By Step Guide To Destroying Your Husband's Life," written by Hans Petersen to his wife in June, Petersen wrote: "make sure your name is on all assets" and "make sure all credit card or other debt is put in your husband's name."
News 8 has also learned Petersen had together invested in a business with his initial alleged victim, Dr. Steven Dowdy, a UC San Diego researcher. While that business, Traversa Therapeutics, ultimately failed, Dowdy was able to use some of the research in another company that he owns.
As for any past brushes with the law, Hans Petersen has nothing on his record that News 8 could find, except a traffic ticket that was later dismissed.
Petersen is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon on seven felony charges, including attempted murder and first degree burglary.
Both of Petersen's alleged shooting victims were taken to the hospital for treatment. According to authorities, their injuries were not life-threatening.
