A 19-year-old man whom police say was shot to death early Wednesday morning in northeast Visalia by a group of suspected gang members was not involved in gang activity.

Visalia police announced today that Vincent Ruben Chapa and a friend were on their way to Chapa’s house to play video games when the shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. on West Vine Avenue near Encina Street.

The companion, whose name and age police have not disclosed, told police that a blue van pulled up near them and somebody opened fire.

Police said they later stopped a van matching the description of the suspect vehicle and arrested the people inside — Derek Romero of Visalia and Rene Javier Zamora of Hanford, both 19, and a 17-year-old Visalia boy — on suspicion of murder.

Police say all three have ties to southern-affiliated street gangs here and from when they lived in Southern California.

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