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Home > All News > 2009 News
Watsonville teen shot in suspected gang-related drive-byPosted: 06/16/2009 09:31:46 AM PDT Updated: 06/16/2009 03:48:06 PM PDT
WATSONVILLE - A teenager with gang ties was shot Monday night while riding his bike in a neighborhood already rife with gang violence. The 18-year-old was on his way home around 11:30 p.m. when a small, dark car pulled alongside him on Herman Avenue and someone fired several rounds from a handgun at him, police reported. The bullets struck the teen in the abdomen and legs, causing life-threatening injuries. People in the neighborhood called 911 to report shots being fired near Rolling Hills Middle School. Police officers and medics responding found the victim lying in the street near 90 Herman Ave., bleeding. The car was gone and police have no suspects, Sgt. Saul Gonzalez said. The teen was flown to a San Jose-area trauma center, where he is recovering, police reported. "He does have some life-threatening injuries, but all indications are he's going to make it," Gonzalez said Tuesday morning. Officers recovered some physical evidence from the scene, which Gonzalez declined to disclose. They also interviewed a few witnesses, but had little information to go on. "It was late at night," Gonzalez said. "There weren't people out on the streets." There are no overt signs the shooting was gang-related - for example, no words were exchanged before the gunman opened fire - but Gonzalez said the violence had gang undertones because of the manner in which it was carried out and that it will be investigated as a gang crime. He also said the victim is connected to a gang, but declined to elaborate. The neighborhood, which is claimed by one gang, has been a hotbed of gang violence in recent weeks. Ten days ago, two men with gang ties were shot while hanging out inside a closed garage attached to a Herman Court home, which is a half-block away from where Monday night's shooting occurred. Two members of a rival gang were stabbed nearby about 12 hours prior to the garage shooting. Gonzalez said there's no indication the violence is connected. In the neighborhood, manicured lawns and blooming roses front Mission-style homes. Jasmine scents walkways leading to front doors. People are shaken. "It's getting out of control," said Mario Fernandez, 29, who lives with his wife and two small children a few doors away from the where the shooting took place and next door to a house where shots were fired into a garage 10 days ago. "If this type of thing keeps up, we'll have to move." Cynthia Ortiz, 21, said she was in her bedroom near the front of the house when she heard several gunshots outside. She said they "kept low" until the shooting stopped. Stepping outside, she saw the teen lying in the street, surrounded by a group of girls who were trying to help him. "He said, 'Can you hurry up? I'm dying here,'" Ortiz said. Ortiz spent her teenage years in the Herman Avenue home, and said the neighborhood was safe back then. "Now I don't know," Ortiz said. "It's pretty scary." News Topics | Surenos | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People | Gallery | Blog | |