A 17-year-old gang member was shot from a passing car in south
Gilroy, and while the incident involved Norte
ños shooting at Sureños – a reverse from the wave of violence
seen earlier this month that culminated in a murder in Morgan Hill
– police said there is no evidence of a
”
retaliation pattern.
”
A 17-year-old gang member was shot from a passing car in south Gilroy, and while the incident involved Norteños shooting at Sureños – a reverse from the wave of violence seen earlier this month that culminated in a murder in Morgan Hill – police said there is no evidence of a “retaliation pattern.”
At 9:33 p.m. Tuesday, a car pulled through Southgate Court, a small cul-de-sac off Church Street south of 10th Street, and gang members inside fire multiple shots from at least one handgun at the 17-year-old male, police said. The teen was hit at least once, and a private party took him to a local hospital to treat his non-life threatening wounds before police arrived.
The assailants also hit the teen’s vehicle, which police did not describe.
The assault was “opposite of what we we’ve been seeing,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said.
Earlier this month, Morgan Hill and Gilroy witnessed a series of escalating attacks by Sureños – who typically wear blue – against Norteños or people that might have been mistaken for Norteños – who typically wear red. That week-long collection of events included a shooting death, a group stabbing and an attack on a deaf-mute man with baseball bats.
Yet, while this attack involved Norteños against Sureños, there was no sign that it fell into a larger pattern of retaliation, Gillio said.
There were several witnesses to the most recent incident, but some were hesitant to come forward, he said.
Police would not release further details about what type of gun or guns were used, and did not specify what type of car was used in the assault. In addition, police did not specify how many people were in the car, or their descriptions.
Police also did not say why they believed the assault was gang-related.
The short, 100-foot Southgate Court – lined by just two apartment complexes – has been the scene of a number of gang incidents in the past few years. In November 2008, a week after the daylight shooting death of parolee and former gang member Larry Martinez Jr., a gray Cadillac pulled by the court and fired multiple shots at the home of a family with no known gang ties. Earlier that year, in March, 10 police cars responded to an apparent gang fight, arresting at least four people on weapons charges.
