Raging Violence
Two Teens Gunned Down in Salinas
Monday, March 2, 2009
A shooting suspect broke away from a relative’s grasp and evaded a witness that followed him in his vehicle after shooting two Salinas teens Sunday.
At about 12:30pm the two victims, ages 16 and 19, were doing yard work on the 1200 block of Caoba Way when a male suspect got out of a burgundy van and opened fire, police said. The 16-year-old was shot in the stomach and the 19-year-old was hit in the arm. A family member tried to capture the shooter by placing him in a bear hug, but the suspect was able to escape after striking the man in the face with his gun.
A neighbor, who declined to give his name, was working on a vehicle and noticed the van circling the street. He followed the suspects but lost the van at North Sanborn Road before he was able to get their license plate.
“You find the vehicle and I’ll ID it in a second,” he told an officer outside the crime scene. “Sh*t’s gotta stop.” The witness said he is fed with the violence, adding that four shootings have occurred over the past year within two blocks of his house. “It’s getting bad,” he said. “I’m going to move back to LA.”
Police said the 16-year-old is in critical condition after being airlifted to a Bay area hospital. The 19-year-old is in stable condition at a local hospital. While police said they don’t know if the shooting was gang related, neighbors said the teens were affiliated with a Sureño gang.
Five young Latino males have been shot in the past four days, including three homicides.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID