SANTA CRUZ >> Police found a 36-year-old Latino man with gunshots to his head and torso on the east San Lorenzo River levee south of the Laurel Street bridge about 10:15 p.m. Monday, according to Santa Cruz Police Department.

Samuel Marroquin died at the scene after firefighters and paramedics tried to render aid, police department spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.

Marroquin was found in the path beside the east levee, Deputy Chief Rick Martinez said.

Marroquin’s death is the second homicide in Santa Cruz County and the first in Santa Cruz this year.

Police continue to seek information in the shooting and do not have information about an assailant.

Tuesday afternoon, a family pushed a stroller beyond a group of young students crossing the bridge near the scene, a mowed an area where Santa Cruz Park rangers say transients no longer are staying at night. No crime scene tape was left in the area. There was a patch of crimson stained grass near the path, but it’s unclear whether that is the site of the shooting.

Police in the area were flagged down in reference to a man down a few hundred feet south of the bridge, Lt. Christian Le Moss said.

Police canvassed the area and, after they located Marroquin, they found multiple bullet casings.

“This case is still under investigation and a motive for the crime is still unclear,” Le Moss said.

SECOND CASE

It is the second deadly shooting at the levee in a little more than a year. On Aug. 23, 2016, Joseph Shuemaker, 24, was shot to death on the west levee less than a half mile from Monday’s shooting. Shuemaker’s death was the county’s first homicide in more than seven months.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills declined to comment whether the shooting was gang-related.

“The general public is not at risk of continued violence,” Mills said.

Marroquin has a criminal history of misdemeanors and traffic infractions in Santa Cruz County, according to court records.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call investigations at 831-420-5820 or leave a message at the tip line, 831-420-5995.

Santa Cruz County homicides 2017

Oct. 2: Samuel Marroquin of Santa Cruz County was shot in the head and body by an unknown assailant shortly before 10:15 p.m. along the path at the San Lorenzo River east levee a few hundred feet south of the Laurel Street bridge in downtown Santa Cruz.

March 19: Carlos Garcia, 36, of Watsonville used a pistol to shoot his daughter, Elizabeth Yaxtel Garcia Tapia, and himself shortly after 3:15 p.m. March 19 in a parked Kia Soul behind the Capitola Mall, according to the Capitola Police Department. Garcia reportedly had a mixture of cannabis, painkillers and stimulants in his system at the time. Police sought out Garcia in the parking lot after his wife called 911 to report her husband was making suicidal threats.