East Salinas Shooting Becomes 9th Homicide of the Year
SALINAS — Police are investigating the city’s ninth homicide of the year following an incident on Monday night which left a young man suffering from a gunshot wound in East Salinas.
16-year-old Jose Luiz Valdez was discovered in the Acosta Plaza neighborhood after numerous reports of a shooting in the area and treated at the scene before being transported to Natividad Medical Center. Ultimately, he did not survive.
As is all too common with street shootings, the nearby apartment complex had been showered with bullets, one of which struck a 12-year-old boy in the hand while he slept in one of the apartments. The bullet is said to have traveled through an exterior wall and then through a couch and pillow before striking him. Fortunately, the injury was minor and treated at the scene by medical personnel. Further medical attention was not necessary.
A stray bullet also struck the apartment complex’s water main, causing one apartment to flood and creating minor damage.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Valdez had been walking over from another apartment complex to meet a friend when, for unknown reasons, he was confronted by two people with handguns. They fired several rounds, striking the apartment complex and fatally wounding Vasquez as he tried to run away.
At this time, it is not known whether the suspects fled on foot or in a vehicle.
