Man, 23, Shot to Death in Irvine; Neighbor Arrested

An argument between two neighbors in an Irvine apartment complex Wednesday afternoon ended with the shooting death of one of them, police said.

Amir Zekria, 23, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m. after being shot in the upper chest with a small handgun. A short time later, police arrested Chrysanthus Thomas, Zekria’s neighbor, in connection with the shooting. He was being held at Orange County Jail, with bail set at $250,000.

“We’re not certain what the argument was about,” Irvine Police Lt. Dave Freedland said.

The altercation took place outside the apartment complex at 10 Thunder Run in front of “many witnesses,” Freedland said. When police arrived at the scene, he said, they found Zekria lying in a parking lot. The incident was the second homicide in less than a week in the usually placid university town. Police on Monday arrested a woman on suspicion of murder in the death of her live-in boyfriend.

FBI crime statistics released this week gave Irvine high marks for safety among cities with populations over 100,000. But while there were no homicides in 1996 or 1997, Freedland said, four people have been slain in the city this year.