A man was hospitalized after being shot in the face during a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon in Chowchilla, authorities said.

Officers were dispatched around 2 p.m. to the 400 block of South 1st Street after reports of the shooting, the Chowchilla Police Department said.

The victim was driven by family members to the area of the police department, where officers provided emergency aid before he was transported to a hospital.

Police said witness statements and the department’s license plate reading camera system helped identify a suspect vehicle. About five minutes later, Madera County sheriff’s deputies stopped the vehicle in Fairmead and detained four people.

Investigators recovered what is believed to be the firearm used in the shooting, two additional guns, firearm parts, narcotics and ammunition, police said.

Those arrested were identified as Edgar Ventura, 27, a Merced County parolee; Christian Estrada, 18, of Merced;  Alexis Palacios, 20, of Fairmead; and a juvenile.

They were booked on multiple charges including attempted murder, conspiracy, narcotics possession and gang enhancement allegations.

Police said the incident appears to be gang-related but there is no ongoing threat to the community.

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