Officers Respond to Shooting in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz police have seen a rise in gang violence recently, and have risen street patrols in an effort to keep it in check.

On Sunday night at approximately 11:35 P.M., police responded to the 500 block area of Center Street on reports of gunshots.

The shots were determined to have come from the area of Center and Elm Streets. Several people told police that, addition to the shots, they had also seen a gold-colored Acura leaving the scene. Officers were also able to recover several small shell casings.

Officers eventually spotted the Acura, ridden with bullet holes, and conducted a high-risk stop in the 700 area of Chestnut Street.

The occupants were detained and the vehicle searched. Though officers didn’t find anything of suspicion hidden in the vehicle, they did find a loaded .45 handgun in the passenger’s purse.

The weapon did not match the shell casings found at the scene.

Both the driver, a 2o-year-old male, and the passenger, a 27-year-old female, did not know why they had been fired upon. They were cited for possession of a loaded and concealed firearm.