Gang shooting rocks Santa Cruz apartment complex; daytime attack sends one to hospital

By Jennifer Squires, Mercury News
Posted: 07/14/2009 01:30:57 AM PDT
Updated: 07/14/2009 06:39:34 AM PDT

SANTA CRUZ — Three armed gang members chased two rivals through a Chestnut Street apartment complex Monday, shooting one man twice and inciting fear in a neighborhood that has had intermittent gang problems for years.

A 23-year-old man suffered gunshot wounds to his leg and arm, but the injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

No one else was hurt, though the 90-unit complex is home to many families with small children. After the gunfire, kids and their parents could be seen congregating in doorways and on porches, watching investigators collect evidence.

“The brazenness of the attack is stunning,” police spokesman Zach Friend said. “Dozens of children were playing in the apartment complex and at a nearby park well-within range of the shooting. The shooting showed a complete and utter disregard for the safety and welfare of a number of innocent children.”

Neighbor Andrea Merkle, who lives just down from the shooting, heard the shots from inside her apartment.

“It’s really unfortunate,” the 17-year resident said. “I’ve shed a lot of tears because I’m worried about the kids. I’m worried about what’s going on here.”

The violence apparently stemmed from an argument earlier in the day when three men inside a white Ford F-150 pickup with “fancy” rims were reportedly harassing the victim, making shooting gestures at him as they drove by, according to a be-on-the-lookout bulletin broadcast on emergency radio.

During that incident, the suspects chased the victim through the complex but no gun was seen, police said.

About an hour later, several apartment complex residents called 911 to report shots fired. They told emergency dispatchers that the men had come back with guns. Kids were crying in the background during the 911 calls, according to emergency radio traffic.

The shooting started in the back parking lot of the complex, which faces Neary Lagoon. The gunman and two other men chased the victim and another Santa Cruz man, age 19, through a portion of the complex and fired four to five shots, according to Lt. Rudy Escalante. Police said no additional bullets were found in the complex.

Friend said “people heard it in the apartment complex” but that there were no reports about anyone being in caught up in the spray of bullets.

Dan Foy, who owns Perrigo’s Auto Body Shop on Washington Street, just across the railroad tracks and up the block from the apartment complex, said he was at work when the shooting occurred. He first thought the shots were car backfire.

“I heard this boom-boom,” Foy said. Then “I thought oh my God, someone just got shot over there.'”

The burst of gunfire caused soccer players at nearby Depot Park to pause on the field. A homeless man walking down the railroad tracks was startled by the shots, started running and fell in the dirt, Foy said.

A number of police officers searched the area for the gunman. He and the two others were last seen fleeing toward the West Cliff Drive train trestle. Police stopped the Roaring Camp railroad train, which was in the area, to make sure the shooter, wasn’t on board.

Police said a surveillance camera was positioned in a manner that would have captured the violence, but the camera was inoperable Monday.

The gunman was described as a young Latino male, possibly in his 20s, with black hair, about 220 pounds, standing 6 feet tall. He was described as wearing dark blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a red and blue hat. No arrests had been made late Monday.

“We are following up on a number of leads and interviewing as many witnesses as we can,” Escalante said.

A great deal of blood could be seen in front of the apartment building where neighbors say the victim grew up.

After the shooting, he was taken to Dominican Hospital, then flown to an out-of-county trauma center for treatment, where he was listed in serious but stable condition Monday afternoon, police reported.

“He’s a good kid,” Merkle said, adding she didn’t understand why he was targeted. “I don’t really see why.”

Escalante said while the apartment complex is known to have gang-related issues, there have been no serious problems this summer. The complex considered territory of a sub-set of a Latino gang that claims blue. Several members of that gang have been arrested for violent crimes and sent to state prison in the past two years, but most of the violence has not occurred at the apartment complex.

In January, shots were fired at a handful of guys working on a car at the two-story, well-maintained, low-income housing complex. No one was injured.

After Monday’s shooting, UC Santa Cruz student Nebiyu Demissie, 22, walked down Chestnut Street with some friends to see why police had flooded his new neighborhood.

Demissie said he and a friend just moved to Santa Cruz from Los Angeles to get away from violence and attend school. Monday, his friend expressed doubt that Santa Cruz was safe. While they watched police put out yellow evidence markers on the blood trail and rope off areas with police tape, both said they wondered if they should move.

“This is intense,” Demissie said.