Cotati man killed in Rohnert Park shooting, 'armed and dangerous' suspect still at large

Rohnert Park officers were searching Thursday for a gunman who shot and killed a Cotati man in the parking lot of a Rohnert Park bank on Wednesday night.

The victim, Alan Albor, 30, was shot outside the Redwood Credit Union on Rohnert Park Expressway in what investigators suspect was a gang-related attack.

The male suspect was captured on video taken by surveillance cameras on nearby businesses. The suspect fled in a dark-colored sedan toward Padre Parkway.

Officers arrived about a minute after they were dispatched in a 9:04 p.m. call about a disturbance, said Rohnert Park Deputy Chief Aaron Johnson. They located Albor facedown in a westbound lane of Rohnert Park Expressway near the bank’s entrance. He could not be revived.

The suspect has not been identified by police.

“He looks to be either a white male or a Hispanic male, but you can’t make anything out,” Johnson said of the footage.

Johnson declined to elaborate on why investigators suspect the shooting was gang-related, though he said authorities have had contact with Albor in the past. Albor was sentenced in 2011 to eight years in prison for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing two people in 2009, according to Sonoma County court records. Authorities said Albor was part of a group who confronted the stabbing victims, who were wearing red, and asked them if they were in a gang before attacking them.

A man who accompanied Albor at the time of Wednesday’s shooting fled on foot after the gunfire, and has not been located by officers, Johnson said.

“We see a passenger get out of the victim’s truck,” Johnson said. “He fled the scene after the incident and we don’t know where he is or who he is.”

The footage, paired with statements from witnesses, indicates that Albor was sitting in his parked truck on the west side of the Redwood Credit Union parking lot when the gunman’s car pulled in several spaces away, Johnson said. A man exited the driver’s side of the car and walked toward Albor’s truck but then returned to his car, remaining outside, Johnson said.

Albor and another man then got out of Albor’s truck and approached the suspect, prompting an argument, Johnson said.

Witnesses could not provide any details about the nature or subject of the confrontation, Johnson said.

The suspect got back into his car, where he was approached by Albor on the driver’s side window, Johnson said. At least one shot was fired by the man from inside his vehicle, Johnson said. Albor staggered away from the car and the gunman drove away.

Johnson said he did not know whether the suspect and victim knew each other or whether the encounter had been planned. He also did not know whether any of the men used the bank’s ATM.

The gunman’s vehicle was described as an Acura TSX, possibly gray in color, with a license plate of 7EAF822. The front driver’s side window was broken and the driver’s side reverse light was out.

Surveillance video of the incident will need to be processed before being distributed to the public, Johnson said.

Relatives of Albor on Thursday either declined to comment or did not return online messages requesting an interview.

Authorities warned that the gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting was considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees the vehicle is asked to call the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety at 707-584-2600 or any law ?enforcement agency.

Anonymous tips about the shooting can be left by calling 707-584-2677 or sending an anonymous email to Crimetips@rpcity.org.

You can reach Staff Writers Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com and Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com.