Teen injured in shooting at condo complex, second shooting there this week

A 13-year-old boy was shot in the leg Wednesday afternoon while running back to his home at a condominium complex west of Highway 99 in Fresno.

The shooting appears to be gang-related, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said. It is the second shooting in three days at Westwood Village, 3398 W. Shields Ave., and the two may be related, he said. No one was injured in Monday’s shooting.

The boy was shot in the lower leg, Dyer said. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover from his injuries.

“Anytime you get someone shot, it’s bothersome,” he said. “And the younger the victim, the more concerning it is.”

There’s been an uptick in violence in the past 28 days, Dyer said, and police are investigating 50 shootings in that time period. So far, police have arrested 35 gang members and recovered 12 guns.

Wednesday’s shooting at 3:40 p.m. prompted a shutdown of the complex. It occurred after a white four-door vehicle driven by a woman and carrying two male passengers left the area and then returned, Dyer said.

The people in the car were involved in an argument and physical fight earlier in the day. Dyer said that disturbance appeared to include gang members, and one person possibly had a bat.

The white car full of people left after the fight and then returned. At least one person inside fired multiple rounds from a handgun toward someone nearby. The boy was shot while crossing the street toward his home. It’s not clear if the boy is involved in gangs or if he was involved in the earlier fight.

Shell casings were scattered in the street, and neighbors gathered outside as police taped off the area and gathered evidence. Neighbors said the complex is unsafe, and it’s becoming dangerous for children to play outside. After briefing the media, Dyer was surrounded by neighborhood children asking about the incident.

He noted that a southwest Fresno gang recently moved into the Westwood complex and was trying to establish a stronghold. The gang members are well-known to police, he said.

Police will work with the complex management to evict residents who are attracting violence and already stepped up a police presence in the area, he said.

Police don’t believe the suspects live in the complex, but Dyer said there’s an ongoing feud between the suspects and complex residents.

Police stopped a white four-door car near Jensen Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard shortly after the shooting. The people inside the car ran away from police and a perimeter was established to search the area for them. Police soon learned the car was not connected to the shooting.

Dyer was confident investigators will be able to solve the two shootings quickly, noting witnesses have been cooperative and the complex has video cameras.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Teen injured in shooting at condo complex, second shooting there this week."