After speaking with downtown bartenders and other witnesses, Morgan Hill Police continue to search for clues as to why an unidentified man fired several gunshots into two parked vehicles late in the evening July 16.
Officers have also reviewed surveillance video from local businesses in hopes of finding images of the alleged shooter—described as a white man about 5-feet, 10-inches tall—but so far haven’t been able to identify him, according to MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas.
“At this point, we don’t have anymore leads,” Thomas said Monday.
About 11:15 p.m. July 16, Morgan Hill police responded to a call of shots fired on the 17300 block of Monterey Road, on the west side of the street. As police responded to the scene, officers were told a man fired a handgun toward two vehicles, which were parked on Monterey Road.
No injuries were reported, police said.
When officers arrived they determined a taxi cab and a pickup truck—both parked in front of M&H Tavern, 17365 Monterey Road—had been damaged by the gunfire, Thomas said. The shooter fired the handgun while he was standing or running from the area in front of Ladera Grill restaurant, 17305 Monterey Road, just two doors down the street from the Tavern.
“Based on the trajectory of the bullets, he…shot while he was running, because two or three shots skipped off the ground,” Thomas added.
He said based on the bullet holes found in the two vehicles, the shooter fired “between six and eight” rounds.
The suspect ran south toward Fifth Street after the shooting, according to police. He was wearing a black baseball cap, dark sweatshirt, red shirt, dark pants and white shoes.
Police also took statements from staff at the businesses and other people who were in the area at the time of the shooting, and have been unable to determine the shooter’s motive. None of the witnesses saw or heard an argument or altercation of any kind preceding the shooting, Thomas said.
Bob Allman, bartender at M&H Tavern, was working at the time of the shooting. He said it had been a mellow evening and the crowd was just starting to build up to a size more typical of a Saturday night. When the shooting happened, Allman said he heard the loud noise outside while he was behind the bar, but he thought it was fireworks. What followed next was a scene of panic and desperation.
“It was like watching TV,” Allman said. “People were pushing each other, and falling all over each other and panicking,” as they ran from the front of the bar—which faces Monterey Road and the two vehicles that were shot—toward the rear door which empties into a parking lot.
After the initial panic, Allman went out the front door. He saw a shattered window on the pickup truck that was hit. Still thinking it was fireworks, he spoke briefly to an officer who responded. He then walked toward Ladera Grill and almost stepped on a number of spent shell casings that remained on the sidewalk.
He then realized a shooting had just occurred. “I was shocked,” Allman said. Moments later, he closed the bar for the evening.
As of Monday, chalk markings from the police investigation remained on the sidewalk in front of Ladera Grill and M&H Tavern. Eight numbered circles were marked in front of Ladera Grill.
Thomas added that police continue to review video from surveillance cameras in the area that might have caught a recording of the shooter or what led up to the July 16 incident.
MHPD is asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or has information about the incident to call Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.
