UPS driver fatally shot while sitting in parked van, Irvine police say

A UPS driver was fatally shot Thursday while inside his parked van in an industrial area of Irvine, according to police.

The Irvine Police Department said a man was shot near Chrysler and Bendix streets at about 3 p.m. About 3½ hours later, a suspect was taken into custody by a SWAT team, police said.

The male suspect drove up alongside the UPS driver and fired multiple times into his van, Sgt. Karie Davies said. Neither the driver nor the suspect got out of their vehicles.

Police said there was no evidence that this was a robbery, and it’s possible the UPS driver was targeted.

“He literally pulled up next to the UPS truck, shot him and drove away,” Davies said. “It looks like it was targeted, but we don’t know the relationship yet.”

Davies said authorities found the victim, whose name has not yet been released, slumped over in the driver’s seat. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told authorities they recognized the UPS driver and that he was on his regular route. The spot where he was parked was where he would stop and have his lunch break, they said.

Aerial footage from the arrest on KABC-TV Channel 7 showed a SWAT team boxing in a silver pickup truck. A K-9 was released into the truck to try to get the suspect out of the vehicle. The man was eventually pulled out by officers.

“They ultimately had to force him out of the vehicle with SWAT techniques,” Davies said. “As far as I know, he’s in our custody.”