Three shot, two killed on Mother's Day in Salinas.

This year, Mother’s Day ended with blood shed on the streets of Salinas.

Within three hours of each other, three men were shot—two of them fatally—in the city. Police say the pair of shootings are being investigated as gang-related.

According to a press release from the Salinas Police Department, the first shooting occurred just before 8pm near the entrance gate of an apartment complex on Atlantic Street. When officers arrived to the crime scene, they found 22-year-old Cesar Ortiz Hernandez and a 42-year-old man, suffering from several gunshot wounds.

Hernandez died at Natividad Medical Center after being shot multiple times in the torso. The other victim was shot in his lower body and survived. According to the press release, Hernandez and the 42-year-old were talking in front of the gate when a lone gunman approached them on foot and opened fire. Nothing was said prior to the shooting. The gunman was described as Latino, about 17 and 18 years old and dressed in all black clothing.

The second shooting occurred about 10:45pm and it was reported to police after residents heard about 20 shots fired on the 300 block of Block Avenue. When officers arrived they found a 21-year-old man with several gunshot wounds to his torso.

Officers performed CPR until medical personnel arrived, but the man died on the street.

The victim was working on a vehicle when the gunman approached him and fired several rounds. It is unclear if there was a verbal confrontation before the shooting.

The suspect is described as Latino, wearing a light-colored sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, and was last seen in a dark-colored mid-sized SUV, going westbound on Block Avenue toward Kip Drive.

These shooting mark the city’s 12th and 13th homicides this year.