Photo: Stock Image
Originally Published By: San Diego PD
“San Diego – On January 27, 2023, at 8:26 p.m., the San Diego Police Communications Center received multiple calls reporting a shooting at 6200 Akins Avenue in the Encanto Neighborhood of San Diego. Officers from Southeastern Division were dispatched and arrived within minutes. Upon arriving, they found four male juveniles who had been shot at by a suspect. Two of those juveniles were struck by gunfire. The first victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body and arms. That victim is described as a 15- year-old Hispanic male. The second victim sustained a gunshot wound to his arm and is described as a 15-year-old Hispanic male. The two other juveniles were shot at, but not struck by gunfire. Those two intended victims are described as 15-year-old Black male and a 16-year-old Hispanic male.
Officers performed life-saving measures on the two gunshot victims until paramedics from San Diego Fire-Rescue arrived and transported the victims to local hospitals for treatment. Both victims are expected to survive. At 9:17 p.m., officers from Southeastern Division responded to another shooting call at 1800 Manzana Way in Bay Terraces. Officers were immediately dispatched and arrived within minutes. Upon arriving, they found two adult males suffering from gunshot wounds. The first victim sustained a gunshot wound to his upper body and he is described as a 34-year-old Black male. The second victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds and sharp force injures throughout his body. The second victim is described as a 32-year-old Hispanic male. Officers performed life-saving measures on the two shooting victims until paramedics arrived. The first victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment and he is expected to survive. The second victim suffered catastrophic injuries and despite the best efforts of police officers and paramedics, his death was pronounced at the scene at 9:37 p.m. After both of these shootings, officers received a detailed physical description of the suspect and his vehicle and it became apparent these shootings were likely related.
Officers saturated the area in an effort to locate the suspect before additional acts of violence could occur. At 9:45 p.m., officers located a vehicle with a sole occupant matching the suspect description. The car was parked on 8100 Paradise Valley Road. Officers called for additional resources and initiated a high-risk vehicle stop where the suspect was taken into custody without incident.
During the arrest of the suspect, officers located a semiautomatic 9mm handgun in the vehicle. The weapon recovered appears to be a “ghost gun” type firearm. During the initial investigation of these shootings, officers learned of another shooting that occurred at 8:07 p.m. at 3100 Dovecrest Court in Spring Valley. That shooting incident appears to involve the same suspect in the above-listed incidents. Although the suspect shot at the victim, no one was struck by gunfire in that incident. That investigation is being handled by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. The San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit will coordinate with them on the potentially-connected cases. San Diego Police Homicide Detectives were called to the scenes and are currently taking the lead on investigating these multiple shootings. The investigation involves processing each scene for physical evidence, locating any surveillance video and interviewing witnesses. It is still early in the investigation and detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding these shootings. Detectives have learned it appears the suspect essentially went on a shooting spree where he drove to different locations in the county and City of San Diego. For reasons that remain uncertain at this time, it appears he targeted random groups of people. There does not appear to be a link between each of the victim groups. It seems the suspect randomly saw and selected each group, got out of his vehicle, and opened fire after approaching them on foot. At this point, it appears the suspect acted alone and there are no outstanding suspects.
The deceased male has been identified. However, his name is not being released at this time pending family notifications. The names of the injured juveniles and adult victim will not be released. The suspect has been identified as Jaime Gonzalez, a resident of Lemon Grove. Gonzalez is described as a 22-year-old Hispanic Male. Gonzalez was booked into jail for one count of murder, five counts of attempted murder, and additional firearms-related charges.
There are likely additional charges pending related to the shooting that occurred in the Sheriff’s Jurisdiction on Dovecrest Court.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall.”
