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Poway High graduate murdered at Mira Mesa party

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A 19-year-old Mira Mesa man has been arrested in connection with an early Sunday morning shooting that left a Poway High School graduate dead and two others wounded during a birthday party in Mira Mesa.

The San Diego Police Department homicide investigators arrested David Phommachanh on a charge of murder about 10 a.m. on Sunday at his residence in the 8900 block of Gold Coast Drive in Mira Mesa, according to Lt. Kevin Rooney.

Tylor Nathaniel Thompson, 22, a Rancho Bernardo resident and graduate of Poway High in 2001, was pronounced dead about 1:07 a.m. Sunday morning at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, according to medical investigator Jerry Simmons.

While the police have not discovered a motive for the shooting, they do suspect that the incident was gang-related, Rooney said.

“We don’t suspect those hosting the party of being in gangs, but we do suspect those crashing the party,” Rooney said.

A young woman was shot in the stomach and another young male was wounded in the foot at the same party, which started Saturday night. Both were treated for wounds that were not “life-threatening” and released from area hospitals, according to Rooney.

The birthday celebration attracted nearly 100 people to the Mira Mesa home on Lott Point, close to the rim of the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve — just south of Rancho Penasquitos.

A small group of males, including the suspect Phommachanh, crashed the party about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night. One of the uninvited males got into an argument in the backyard and started threatening guests with a gun, according to witness accounts, police said.

“Shortly after that, witnesses reported that one of the suspects pulled out a gun and shots were fired,” Rooney said. “That caused a panic — and people fled in all directions.”

As guests fled, some kind of scuffle happened between Thompson and one of the men at the front of the house, Rooney said. Two of the victims were shot and they collapsed in the street.

After the shooting, police interviewed about 30 people to collect as much information about the incident as possible.

A gang suppression team, which was on duty that night, also responded to the incident.

Police are asking anyone with more information about this shooting to call Rooney in the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2425, or CrimeStoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.

Thompson is survived by his parents, John Thompson of Escondido and Nobuko Thompson of Rancho Bernardo, his sister, Lisa Thompson, and a son, Elijah, 3.

Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. this Friday at the First Baptist Church, located at 13604 Midland Road. Pastor Rick Applestill will officiate.

A private burial will follow at Dearborn Memorial Park in Poway.

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