San Diego Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are investigating two murders that took place last weekend in the North Park and Chollas Creek neighborhoods.

The first occurred at 12:04 a.m. on July 14, when officers, responding to reports of multiple gunshots in the 2900 block of Suncrest Drive, found a male and a female lying on the ground near their car suffering from gunshot wounds.

Both victims were transported to a trauma center, where, at 12:53 a.m., the male victim, Timothy Traaen, 30, a graphic designer, died. His female companion, also 30, whose name officers have yet to release, suffered wounds that were not life threatening. She is being treated for her injuries.

The SDPD release said a preliminary investigation revealed the couple was leaving a bar near 30th Street and Adams Avenue, walking toward their car, when an armed suspect approached them from behind and demanded their money.

“We’re still in the process of trying to sort out what, if anything, was taken,” said Lt. Kevin Rooney, with the SDPD Homicide Unit.

The suspect shot both victims before running south in the west alley of 4700 30th St.

Rooney said that a witness reported seeing a man hurriedly getting into a light-colored Chevrolet van parked in the south alley of 3000 Suncrest Drive at the time of the shooting. The van, possibly occupied by a male and a female, quickly backed out of the alley and turned north on Works Place. A relationship between the van and the shooting has not, however, been established, Rooney said.

Rooney said that the SDPD is distributing a composite photo of the suspect, described as a black male, age 20 to 30, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and armed with a handgun, to local businesses.

The second homicide occurred at 2:44 a.m. on July 14, when officers were dispatched to a report of a male who had been assaulted at an apartment complex in the 5000 block of Wightman Street.

“Officers arriving at the complex found a male lying unconscious on the second floor balcony, suffering from an apparent puncture wound. Officers immediately began CPR; however, the man was pronounced dead at the scene by responding medical personnel,” an SDPD release said.

Police later identified the victim as 36-year-old Amos Johnson, and released a photo of Paul Demetrious Rogers, 29, as a “person of interest” in the case. According to an SDPD release, Rogers may be driving a 1990 green Acura Legend without a license plate. He is wanted on a parole violation, and is known to frequent Mid-City, Spring Valley and Chula Vista.

The motive for the crime is not known.

District 3 Councilmember Toni Atkins launched a “Bar Safety Campaign” yesterday, July 18, at Bourbon Street, a University Heights bar. “With the approach of LGBT Pride weekend and the peak of San Diego’s tourist season, maintaining the safety of those who visit our local eating and drinking establishments is imperative,” Atkins said in a release. The campaign includes a safety-tip flyer that will be distributed to community bars.

The Bar Safety Campaign is the result of a community planning meeting last April to discuss countering crime in Hillcrest and surrounding areas. The meeting focused on the lack of effect a previous series of public meetings on the issue had among the younger community. “We did a series of public safety meetings at the end of last year and learned that our forums were not reaching the people who had been the victims of some of these assaults at the bars,” Atkins said at that meeting. “Of course, many concerned citizens and the business associations go to these meetings and forums all the time, but it is just not the way the younger crowds get information.”

Both meetings were spearheaded by the San Diego GLBT Tavern Guild, a coalition of employees from GLBT bars, clubs, restaurants and coffee shops. Bourbon Street bartender “Big Mike” Phillips and assistant manager Leo Moore founded the organization in 2005 to create a stronger voice for bar, restaurant and club owners within the community. “We try to communicate the [danger] to our patrons and neighbors. It’s a hard situation, because how do you get people to pay attention. Especially with Pride coming up, we’re all a target,” Phillips said. He added that, to his knowledge, no one from the Air Conditioned Lounge, outside which, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune article, Traaen and his companion were shot last weekend, has attended a Guild meeting. The Air Conditioned Lounge did not respond to calls from the Gay & Lesbian Times requesting comment.

The number of homicides in San Diego has fluctuated over the past five years, Mónica Muñoz, SDPD’s media services manager, said. In 2002, there were 47 homicides. By 2006, that number had risen to 68.