MURRIETA —— A Murrieta man was shot and killed in an apartment parking lot early Thursday in what police believe started with a dispute over child visitation.

Jorge Estrada, 24, a member of the California National Guard, was shot three times by a man police identified as his wife's former boyfriend.

Estrada, an Army infantryman, had just returned Saturday from serving in Iraq, said Technical Sgt. Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the National Guard. Estrada's battalion was based in Modesto and Hughan said he didn't know how long Estrada had been in Iraq.

The shooting happened about 7:40 a.m. in the front parking lot of the Camden Vineyards apartments at 24323 Jackson Ave., Murrieta police Sgt. Larry Preston said. Estrada and his wife were living with her mother at the apartment, Preston said.

Police received a number of 911 calls after the shooting and the first officers arrived to find Estrada being attended to by his wife, who was holding her 3-day-old baby daughter, authorities said.

Police say Fabian Cayetano Urrea, 19, of Mead Valley, fired the fatal shots and then fled in a 1997 white Nissan pickup with a California license plate number 7J26810. The truck has dark tinted windows and damage to the left front bumper.

According to Superior Court records, Judge Michael Hider issued a $550,000 warrant Thursday afternoon for Urrea's arrest on one count of murder. Urrea is described as having a shaved head and about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 145 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Authorities ask that anyone with information about Urrea's whereabouts call 911 or the Murrieta Police Department at (951) 696-3615.

The weapon used to kill Estrada was not found at the crime scene, so police suspect the killer may still have it with him.

"This was an extremely violent crime and it is crucial we find (Urrea) and he is taken into custody as soon as possible," police Lt. Mike Baray said. "Crimes like these are very rare in our city and we feel (Urrea) is an extreme danger to the community."

Detectives contacted a number of people who might know Urrea's whereabouts, Baray said, including members of his family, but had not located him by Thursday night.

Authorities said Estrada and his wife were married in December and he returned home from Iraq on emergency leave to be with his wife as she gave birth. Urrea is the father of the newborn baby she gave birth to just three days ago, police said.

Urrea arrived unannounced at the Jackson Avenue apartment early Thursday to discuss visitation of the infant, Preston said.

Estrada's wife and Urrea were talking outside and she went back into her apartment to get her husband, the sergeant said. After Estrada came to the parking lot, Urrea took out a handgun and three shots were fired into his upper body, Preston said.

Estrada was taken by ambulance to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar where he was pronounced dead at 8:20 a.m., according to the Riverside County coroner's office.

Some of Estrada's clothing and his white tennis shoes sat next to a planter in the parking lot as police investigated the crime scene.

Near the clothing were two shell casings from the weapon used to kill Estrada. The third casing had not been found and detectives believe it could have ended up in the Nissan pickup.

Based on the casings found, police say the weapon was likely a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.

As officers and detectives processed the scene, nearby residents in the large three-story apartment complex watched from balconies.

An unidentified resident sat on the steps outside his apartment across from the shooting scene. He said he was sleeping when he heard some shots.

"I came outside and the guy was laying down there," he said, motioning toward the parking lot. The man, who looked like he was still stunned, said it was traumatic to see what had happened.

This is the first homicide in Murrieta in nearly a year.

On Aug. 13, 2004, the body of 21-year-old Amber Frink was found in an upstairs bedroom of a home on Del Val Drive.

Dustin Waid Stanford, 24, is charged in connection with her murder and is scheduled to return to Southwest Justice Center in French Valley for a hearing later this month. His trial has yet to begin.

Stanford remains in custody at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, held in lieu of $514,000 bail, jail records state.

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.