A 17-year-old Salinas boy became the city's 20th homicide victim of the year after he was shot about 8 p.m. Tuesday outside his home on Yucatan Way.
Sgt. Don Cline said the youth was entering his house when at least one gunman fired multiple times, striking the boy. He was taken to Natividad Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. His name was not released late Tuesday.
Witnesses told police they saw the gunman and at least one person flee in a white truck. Cline said police have made no arrests and are searching for the assailants.
He said it is too soon to tell if the shooting is gang-related or related to any recent homicides.
Tuesday's slaying was the sixth homicide in eight days in Salinas.
Gang investigators are looking into whether recent brazen shootings in Salinas are part of a "clean-up" or power struggle among Norteño gang members.
Investigators have taken note of the boldness of the recent attacks in Salinas and said several of the victims were specifically targeted.
Six people were killed and another critically wounded in a series of shootings that began when two men were shot July 27.
In past decades, the city has witnessed prolonged periods of violence at times when power struggles within the Norteños and their "parent" crime organization, the Nuestra Familia prison gang, have translated into battles in the streets. At times, the shooting sprees included attacks on gang deserters and rivals who
competed with the gang for drug-dealing turf.
"These spikes of violence are not uncommon in Salinas. Unfortunately, we have been suffering from these for years," Cline said late Tuesday.
At least three of the six recent slaying victims were affiliated with Norteño gangs, police said, as was Joseph Cruz Bustamante, 26, another targeted man who was shot July 27 but has not contacted police or local hospitals.
Several people who were shot were gang "dropouts," a designation that could put them on hit lists, investigators said, although dropouts are sometimes left alone if they are not thought to be competing with the gang for revenue.
Police were quick to say Tuesday they do not know if Monday's shooting victim, Arturo Navarro Marquez, 30, had gang ties, but said they have not ruled it out.
Court records show Marquez was convicted of possessing methamphetamine in 2004 and was arrested several other times on drug charges. His probation terms did not indicate a gang affiliation.
Salinas police Sgt. Christopher Lane said the large number of shots fired at Marquez makes his shooting stand out from the spontaneous or random drive-by attacks that are more common among young gang members.
"It was more like an execution," he said.
Lane said police are investigating whether retaliation shootings have been part of the mix this week.
Two victims, Roy Ramirez, 28, who was shot July 28, and Antonio Quintero, 21, who was killed one day later, had family ties.
Alberto Arizpe, who was fatally shot when gunmen burst into his residence late Sunday, was reportedly placed on Norteño "no good" lists after he was convicted of child abuse in 1999. That case left a 22-month-old boy with a broken leg and head and arm injuries. Arizpe was 18 at the time.
Judge Robert Moody, after hearing testimony that a 12-year-old witness told police he had seen Arizpe torment and torture the toddler, said Arizpe had suffered terrible abuses "at an extremely young age."
"It's an extremely sick situation," Moody said at Arizpe's sentencing. "You have committed acts which are absolutely inhuman. They are unspeakable."
When Arizpe was sent to a state prison in Delano to begin a seven-year sentence in 2000, Norteño inmates assaulted him and forced him out of the gang because of the child abuse conviction, several people familiar with his case said.
Mayor Dennis Donohue acknowledged that the recent attacks were "brazen" and "out of the ordinary," and said "fundamentally, there is no guarantee of anyone's personal safety who chooses to be involved with that life."
He said the city remains committed to putting "game-changer" tactics into place, but insisted they will take time.
"Qualitative and quantitative investments are needed to break the cycle," he said.
The city and its police department have begun to implement "community-involved" policing strategies, including sending emergency response teams that offer support to families of victims and strive to prevent retaliatory shootings.
But residents must remember that results from innovative and even "proven" approaches are not instantaneous, Donohue said.
Salinas is notable among California cities because in recent years its homicide rate has been nearly 100 percent gang-related. Crime experts consider 40 percent or higher to be a very high level of gang crime.
At least 18 of the 20 slayings this year have gang involvement, police said. Of last year's record 25 homicides, 23 were gang-related.
"It's gotten too big," Donohue said. "We need to make the investment."
Sgt. Don Cline said the youth was entering his house when at least one gunman fired multiple times, striking the boy. He was taken to Natividad Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. His name was not released late Tuesday.
Witnesses told police they saw the gunman and at least one person flee in a white truck. Cline said police have made no arrests and are searching for the assailants.
He said it is too soon to tell if the shooting is gang-related or related to any recent homicides.
Tuesday's slaying was the sixth homicide in eight days in Salinas.
Gang investigators are looking into whether recent brazen shootings in Salinas are part of a "clean-up" or power struggle among Norteño gang members.
Investigators have taken note of the boldness of the recent attacks in Salinas and said several of the victims were specifically targeted.
Six people were killed and another critically wounded in a series of shootings that began when two men were shot July 27.
In past decades, the city has witnessed prolonged periods of violence at times when power struggles within the Norteños and their "parent" crime organization, the Nuestra Familia prison gang, have translated into battles in the streets. At times, the shooting sprees included attacks on gang deserters and rivals who
competed with the gang for drug-dealing turf.
"These spikes of violence are not uncommon in Salinas. Unfortunately, we have been suffering from these for years," Cline said late Tuesday.
At least three of the six recent slaying victims were affiliated with Norteño gangs, police said, as was Joseph Cruz Bustamante, 26, another targeted man who was shot July 27 but has not contacted police or local hospitals.
Several people who were shot were gang "dropouts," a designation that could put them on hit lists, investigators said, although dropouts are sometimes left alone if they are not thought to be competing with the gang for revenue.
Police were quick to say Tuesday they do not know if Monday's shooting victim, Arturo Navarro Marquez, 30, had gang ties, but said they have not ruled it out.
Court records show Marquez was convicted of possessing methamphetamine in 2004 and was arrested several other times on drug charges. His probation terms did not indicate a gang affiliation.
Salinas police Sgt. Christopher Lane said the large number of shots fired at Marquez makes his shooting stand out from the spontaneous or random drive-by attacks that are more common among young gang members.
"It was more like an execution," he said.
Lane said police are investigating whether retaliation shootings have been part of the mix this week.
Two victims, Roy Ramirez, 28, who was shot July 28, and Antonio Quintero, 21, who was killed one day later, had family ties.
Alberto Arizpe, who was fatally shot when gunmen burst into his residence late Sunday, was reportedly placed on Norteño "no good" lists after he was convicted of child abuse in 1999. That case left a 22-month-old boy with a broken leg and head and arm injuries. Arizpe was 18 at the time.
Judge Robert Moody, after hearing testimony that a 12-year-old witness told police he had seen Arizpe torment and torture the toddler, said Arizpe had suffered terrible abuses "at an extremely young age."
"It's an extremely sick situation," Moody said at Arizpe's sentencing. "You have committed acts which are absolutely inhuman. They are unspeakable."
When Arizpe was sent to a state prison in Delano to begin a seven-year sentence in 2000, Norteño inmates assaulted him and forced him out of the gang because of the child abuse conviction, several people familiar with his case said.
Mayor Dennis Donohue acknowledged that the recent attacks were "brazen" and "out of the ordinary," and said "fundamentally, there is no guarantee of anyone's personal safety who chooses to be involved with that life."
He said the city remains committed to putting "game-changer" tactics into place, but insisted they will take time.
"Qualitative and quantitative investments are needed to break the cycle," he said.
The city and its police department have begun to implement "community-involved" policing strategies, including sending emergency response teams that offer support to families of victims and strive to prevent retaliatory shootings.
But residents must remember that results from innovative and even "proven" approaches are not instantaneous, Donohue said.
Salinas is notable among California cities because in recent years its homicide rate has been nearly 100 percent gang-related. Crime experts consider 40 percent or higher to be a very high level of gang crime.
At least 18 of the 20 slayings this year have gang involvement, police said. Of last year's record 25 homicides, 23 were gang-related.
"It's gotten too big," Donohue said. "We need to make the investment."
