Man, 69, killed in shooting at Fallbrook nursery ID’d

A 69-year-old man killed in a shooting at a Fallbrook nursery last week that left two others wounded was identified Tuesday as Francisco Hernandez Mireles, sheriff’s officials said.

Hernandez Mireles was one of three people shot around 2:45 p.m. Friday at the Atkins Nursery on Reche Road near Gird Road, sheriff’s Lt. Chris Steffen said in a news release. The shooter used a .22 caliber rifle.

One of the victims was the suspected shooter’s daughter.

She and the other wounded person — a man described as being 65 to 70 years old — were found just outside of a barn on the property, the county Sheriff’s Department said. Each was shot in the upper torso.

They were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The suspected shooter — identified as Enrique Barajas Gutierrez, 76 — was found in a barn on the property shortly after the shooting and was arrested without a struggle, Steffen said.

Mireles’ body was found in the same barn. Investigators said an autopsy confirmed later that Mireles’ cause of death was a gunshot wound.

Barajas Gutierrez and the three victims worked at the nursery, Steffen said.

Barajas Gutierrez is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Vista Superior Court. He remains jailed without bail.

Sheriff’s officials asked anyone with information to call homicide detectives at (858) 285-6330 or after hours at (858) 565-5200. Anonymous can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.