POLICE ARREST TWO IN GANG SHOOTING.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer A pair of gang incidents this week, including a shooting during evening rush-hour traffic Monday on Cochran Street, have resulted in two arrests, Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. police said. Police said they have bolstered enforcement after a series of incidents, including graffiti and vandalism, between rival local gangs since the start of school. It is unclear if those incidents are related to this week's shooting, but police officials said gang activity is a concern even in one of the nation's safest cities. ``Having a shooting anywhere in the city is rare and unusual,'' said Lt. Dick Thomas of the Simi Valley Police Department The Simi Valley Police Department (SVPD) is the police department of the city of Simi Valley, California. The department currently has over 120 sworn officers, and more than 65 support personnel[1]. The department has a patrol area that covers over 39 square miles. who heads up a special operations Operations conducted in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to achieve military, diplomatic, informational, and/or economic objectives employing military capabilities for which there is no broad conventional force requirement. division that includes the gang unit. ``It's unfortunately an example we do have some gang activity.'' Early on Monday, police said two local juvenile gang members were at a gas station on the east end of town when they were confronted by three young males police suspect are members of a rival gang. An argument ensued and the two juveniles were pistol-whipped by the others. The two victims fled the scene and returned to find their car windows smashed, possibly by gunfire, police said. The shooting occurred later that day at the intersection of Cochran Street and Tapo Canyon Boulevard. One of the juveniles who had been pistol-whipped threw a can of soda at a rival gang member's car as both waited at the traffic light, shattering the back window on two children sitting in the back seat, police said. A rival gang member leaned out of the car window and fired at least one shot at a sport-utility vehicle sport-u·til·i·ty vehicle n. Abbr. SUV A four-wheel-drive vehicle with a roomy body, designed for off-road travel. with the youth, police said. The evening shooting was witnessed by commuters in the busy intersection, including four who used their cellular phones to call police. No one was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. . Both cars fled, but police later spotted the sport-utility vehicle and arrested the juvenile. Police arrested Simi Valley resident Angel Rodriguez, 18, for allegedly discharging the firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. . Police recovered a pistol from the shooting scene Tuesday on Cochran Street. Police also are reviewing a videotape videotape Magnetic tape used to record visual images and sound, or the recording itself. There are two types of videotape recorders, the transverse (or quad) and the helical. from the gas station in the hopes of identifying suspects and for use in filing charges. Police said there have been a series of gang incidents since the start of the school year, when young people are sizing up one another and gangs are often recruiting new members. ``Ever since the school started, we have had a series of tit-for-tat tit-for-tat Adjective done in return or retaliation for a similar act: a spate of tit-for-tat killings [earlier tip for tap] incidents,'' said Sgt. Greg Riegert. ``They were minor and they started to escalate es·ca·late v. es·ca·lat·ed, es·ca·lat·ing, es·ca·lates v.tr. To increase, enlarge, or intensify: escalated the hostilities in the Persian Gulf. v.intr. .'' Riegert said there have been about 10 incidents since school began, ranging from graffiti and vandalism to Monday's events. Police planned a sweep for Wednesday, hoping to check local youth gang members for probation violations and meet with their parents. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion