Suspects at large after man shot west of Santa Rosa

A man was shot Thursday afternoon in a rural neighborhood west of Santa Rosa by men apparently dressed as FBI agents in what sheriff’s officials are saying was possibly an attempted marijuana robbery.

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies are searching for two suspects following the 2:25 p.m. attack in the 1000 block of Merced Avenue, just south of Highway 12 and west of South Wright Road.

Witnesses reported seeing two men, dressed in clothes with FBI markings, running from the house after the shots were heard, Sgt. Cecile Focha said. They left in a light blue or gray SUV, possibly a Nissan. Later, police-style clothing was found in a nearby ditch, she said.

Detectives are still investigating the crime and it was unclear immediately whether anything was stolen, she said. She added that detectives are not sure about the motive, but that they are considering the possibility that the men were trying to steal marijuana.

Nearby residents said they thought the victim grew cannabis with a medical marijuana card and that the plants were visible from the road.

The victim, a 52-year-old man, suffered a single gunshot wound and was taken to a local hospital. He was initially in stable condition, Sheriff’s Lt. Darin Dougherty said. The victim later underwent surgery, Focha said.

Wright Charter School, just a couple blocks from the shooting, was temporarily placed on lockdown as the sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead looking for the suspects, neighbors said.

The two adult male suspects were still at large Thursday evening. They were believed to have a semi-automatic handgun and were considered armed and dangerous, Focha said.

Holly Brians, who lives about a block down Merced Avenue from the series of tan-colored duplexes where the shooting took place, said she heard that the man was shot when he fought back. The suspects then fled, dropping a bag containing their costumes.

About an hour after the shooting, sheriff’s detectives worked behind a cordoned-off section of the oak-lined street, talking to neighbors and inspecting the street.

Brians said she was inside her home with her daughter when the shooting took place. “The first thing I heard was a helicopter circling,” she said.

She said the neighborhood used to be dangerous but had “gotten quiet” in recent years.

But growing marijuana is not uncommon in the area, she and other neighbors said.

“There are good people around here,” she said, adding that problems arise when outsiders target the neighborhood.

Staff Writer Mary Callahan contributed to this report.