Teen on bike shoots, injures one in Santa Rosa gang shooting

Riding a bicycle and carrying a handgun, a teen shot at two brothers as they stood outside a west Santa Rosa apartment and then rode away, according to Santa Rosa police.

The shooting late Monday night involved gang issues; a 19-year-old hit twice by the gunfire is “a well-known gang member,” Santa Rosa Police Sgt. John Cregan said. The man’s 24-year-old brother narrowly missed getting hit.

Police were called to the 700 block of Rockwell Place at about 10:35 p.m. by people reporting gunfire. Minutes later, a 911 call for help at a home in the neighborhood was for a gunshot victim.

Before the gunfire, the brothers were outside when they were confronted by a male on a bike, police said.

“He rode by on his bike. They exchanged some type of words,” Cregan said.

The rider got off the bike and the gun came out. At least six shots were fired before he got back on the bike and pedaled away, the sergeant said.

The 19-year-old was hit twice in one leg. His brother told police that he could feel a round go between his legs.

The shooter was on a white mountain bike with distinctive blue markings, Cregan said. He appeared to be 15 to 19 years old, Latino, skinny and short and wore a dark hooded sweatshirt.

The sergeant asked anyone who saw the teen on the bike to call police. He also encouraged anyone who observed any part of the confrontation, especially any words exchanged, to come forward and talk with detectives.

The Sonoma County Alliance’s Take Back Our Community fund is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the conviction of the shooter.

In response to the shooting, at least two members of the Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership team on Tuesday were in the neighborhood, talking to residents and reaching out to gang members to try and quell any ideas of further gang violence, said Khaalid Muttaqi, program manager.

“We are going to do some specific intervention (Tuesday) to create a presence there, reach out to the folks in the neighborhood,” Muttaqi said.

Reports of crime in the area have dropped in the past year, but there’s been a recent increase, he said. The city, through the violence prevention program, has held community meetings, social gatherings and regular contacts with residents, property owners and administrators from nearby Lincoln Elementary School.

“That is an area where we’ve been investing a lot of time, effort and resources,” Muttaqi said. “The violence is definitely disheartening. At the same time, it reminds us we have to be diligent, especially to maintain some of the progress we’ve made in that neighborhood. We’ve made some very good strides.”

The shooting occurred along a pedestrian walkway that connects two residential complexes off West Ninth Street, an area that has experienced recurring gang activity in the past several years. Cregan said the shooter was standing on Simpson Place when he fired toward the brothers.

The brothers told officers any words exchanged before the shooting did not involve gang challenges, Cregan said.

Cregan said the 19-year-old victim is on felony probation from a conviction last year involving a gang assault that took place in the same neighborhood. Detectives are investigating whether the shooting has any connection to that assault.

Cregan declined to release the names of the victims, citing the level of violence and because the suspect hasn’t been identified.

He asked anyone with information to contact gang detectives at 543-3670.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem. You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rossmannreport.