BIKE TRAIL SHOOTING A SHOCK RESIDENTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT ON ALERT.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A man who was shot in the side and robbed of his bicycle Monday night on a Valencia bike trail walked several blocks to an Esteban Drive home and cried for neighbors to call for help.

The 28-year-old victim, who did not speak English, lifted his shirt to show the gunshot wound and just repeatedly cried, ``911, 911,'' said Chris Hamilton, whose mother and neighbor called police.

``Given the area and the security we normally have around here, it's very shocking to think something like this could happen,'' he said.

The victim was treated at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and was recovering at his Newhall home Tuesday morning as detectives gathered more information about the assault.

Police were called about 9:30 p.m. after the victim was shot while riding his bicycle home from work on the trail between San Fernando Road and Magic Mountain Parkway, officials said.

The men approached him, pointed a handgun at him and, in Spanish, demanded the bicycle and other property, said Detective Ignacio Somoano of the Santa Clarita station.

``They told him it was a robbery and he resisted a little,'' Somoano said.

Several shots were fired during the confrontation, and one bullet struck the victim in the side, he said. The assailants then fled with the victim's bicycle, cash and other property.

``This is one of the first shootings and robberies I can think of on a bike trail,'' said Sgt. Howard Fairchild, head of the robbery and assault team at the Santa Clarita sheriff's station. ``It's not the kind of place you'd expect anyone to do a robbery.''

About 10 minutes before the shooting, a 15-year-old Valencia boy was robbed at gunpoint of his Walkman CD player as he jogged along the South Fork Trail, just north of where the shooting occurred, officials said. The teen was not injured.

Authorities used a helicopter and dogs to search the area for the robbers without success. They are described as two male Latinos ages 22 to 26. One might have been wearing a long, Afro-style wig.

While bike trail shootings and robberies are rare, Fairchild said, there have been reports of indecent exposure and attempted rape on the paseos.

``We get about five or six of those kinds of reports a year,'' he said. ``But this is the first robbery I can think of.''

Deputies patrol the trails on bicycle during the summer months, but no immediate bike patrols are planned for the trails in response to the robberies, Somoano said.

However, he said patrol deputies have been alerted to be on the lookout for the robbers, who are believed to be local residents.

Residents on the quiet, tree-lined street near the bike trail said they were alarmed by the attacks.

``I moved my family here from New York City so I wouldn't have to be on guard all the time,'' said Andy Fernandez, 36, as he bicycled Tuesday along the trail where the attacks occurred. ``This is shocking considering this is one of the safest cities in the country.''

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Map: Valencia