SANTA CRUZ >> A man was airlifted to a Bay Area hospital after a fight at the San Lorenzo River levee left him with a gunshot wound in each leg Monday night, the Santa Cruz Police Department reported.

Police responded to a call for assistance about 9 p.m. east of the levee and Broadway Avenue and officers found the 23-year-old Santa Cruz man the grass near Mimi De Marta Dog Park, Police Department spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.

Officers rendered aid and applied a tourniquet to the victim’s legs.

Three suspects, a white man and two black men, were still at large as of Tuesday evening after one of the men allegedly shot the 23 year old, police said.

The 23-year-old man and his brother told police they were walking on the levee when three men approached them, Blaschke said. The suspects demanded the man’s belongings, one suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and a fight broke out between the 23 year old and the armed man.

“When the victim fell down during the struggle, the suspect shot the victim twice in the legs,” Blaschke said. “All three suspects were last seen running southbound on the east levee toward the lower Ocean Street area.”

Police released these descriptions of the suspects:

• An armed black man, 20 to 25 years old, about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds with spiked hair. The man was last seen wearing a black jacket and jeans. He was armed with a semiautomatic pistol, Blaschke said.

• A black man, 20 to 25 years old, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, last seen wearing a green sweatshirt and gray pants.

• A white man, 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet tall, 150 pounds, last seen wearing a black and red Santa Cruz sweatshirt and black pants.

The shooting is an open investigation, Blaschke said.

It is not the first shooting at the levee this year. An argument at the west levee spurred the shooting death of Joseph Shuemaker, 24, on Aug. 23. Nino Ruiz, 27, and Jenessa Kic, 31, were arrested in connection with the shooting. Cristobal Natividad, 41, also was charged with accessory in the homicide.

Santa Cruz police ask anyone with information about the shooting on Monday to call investigations at 831-420-5820, the anonymous tip line at 831-420-5995 or leave tips at santacruzpolice.com or by the mobile application at m.santacruzpolice.com.