YAKIMA, Wash. -- A 19-year-old Yakima man died of a gunshot wound suffered at a party in the Terrace Heights area early Sunday.

Erberto Lopez was shot once in the chest at a home in the 200 block of Butterfield Road, according to the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

A second man, Omar Ramirez, 22, also of Yakima, was shot in the left hand. He was treated at a local hospital and released.

Lopez’s death marks the 12th homicide in Yakima County this year.

An initial investigation showed alcohol was being served at a party at the home and people were being charged $2 for a party cup, according to a news release from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said that shortly before the 3:45 a.m. shooting, a number of people arrived who did not want to pay the $2, instead saying they had brought their own beer. A fight broke out when they were asked the leave and Lopez was shot by one of the party crashers, according to the department.

While leaving the party, more shots were fired and Ramirez was struck, according to the department.

When Yakima police and sheriff’s deputies began arriving, they found many people leaving the party in vehicles as well as scattering on foot.

According to the sheriff’s office, the party crashers reportedly stated they were Norteño gang members. But authorities also said it’s not clear whether gang affiliation played any role in the shooting.

Both Lopez and Ramirez were taken to local hospitals in private vehicles, according to the sheriff’s office. Lopez died shortly after arriving at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

“At this point, it appears to be he was definitely shot, but we’ll do the autopsy to determine how many times, if more than once,” said coroner Jack Hawkins. “We don’t know for sure until we do the exam.”

Ramirez was taken to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center.

Lopez’s death brings the number of homicides in Yakima County to 12 so far this year. That compares to seven last year for the same time period. In 2008, there were 18 homicides altogether in Yakima County. That was up from a dozen in 2007.

“We are working hard,” Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin said Sunday afternoon. “We have never not been on alert.”

But Irwin cited concern for funding for local law enforcement as well as gang prevention and intervention programs.

“Now it’s all coming to a head,” he said. “Luckily, there are some stimulus funds that have been made available, that are starting to flow to us. But those are only short-term.

“Local government needs to find a way to better fund law enforcement and programs to combat the gang problem.”

There were no arrests announced in the case by Sunday evening.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 509-574-2500.