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"My niece's husband was going to the gym, and as he was driving off some guy started shooting at him, but we don't know exactly who it was," said Maria Martinez, the victim's aunt.
Police say after being shot multiple times, the victim lost control of his vehicle. His car crossed four lanes of traffic and the center median before crashing into a tree.
Police found the victim slumped over the steering wheel inside his car near Kramer and Chapman avenues. The body of his silver Pontiac GTO is riddled with bullets and the passenger side window is shattered.
The victim was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.
Police say they do not believe the shooting was a random act, and that they victim may have been targeted.
"We don't know whether or not the suspect followed him home, was lying in wait," said Det. Corinne Loomis from the Placentia Police Department. "We don't believe it was a random act, but we don't know how the suspect knew he would be leaving the house at 9."
So far investigators do not believe the attack was gang-related. They don't believe robbery was the motive either, as nothing was taken.
Police said the victim has three children. The man's relatives said they are shocked by what happened.
"He's not a bad person. He works. He's a family guy," said Martinez. "This is like a surprise for us because we really don't know why it happened."
Investigators are now looking into the financial background of the victim, who works in the trucking industry.
"We're looking in to that," said Det. Loomis. "Anyone with any type of grudge against him, be mad with him for any reason, we're certainly trying to get information from him."
Police say they were able to speak with the victim briefly at the hospital.
A number of witnesses heard gunshots, and at least one witness saw a man running and jumping into a vehicle right after the shooting.
A description of the suspect or the suspect's vehicle have not been released, and no one has been arrested.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Placentia Police Department at (714) 993-8164.
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