Above: Stock Image
In a significant development, detectives from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol, have made an arrest in connection with the shooting incident that occurred on Highway 1 in May 2023. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Raphael Shakur Abduh-Salam, also known as “Abdul-Salam” and hailing from Hayward, is now in custody.
The incident, which took place on the evening of Friday, May 26, 2023, unfolded when deputies and the California Highway Patrol responded to reports of a shooting near the Freedom Boulevard exit on Southbound Highway 1. Preliminary findings indicated that the suspect had been driving erratically on southbound Highway 1, leading to a collision with another vehicle. Both vehicles subsequently exited the freeway at Freedom Blvd. It was at this point that the suspect turned his vehicle around and discharged multiple rounds at the victim’s vehicle before fleeing the scene.
The victim’s vehicle was occupied by five family members at the time of the incident, resulting in injuries to the adult male driver and a three-year-old child due to gunfire and shrapnel. Fortunately, both victims have since been treated and released from the hospital.
Over the course of several months, Sheriff’s Office detectives, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol and various forensic teams and law enforcement agencies, meticulously pursued the case. Through extensive follow-up investigations, ballistic testing, and DNA evidence, they successfully identified Abduh-Salam as the prime suspect in the shooting.
Abduh-Salam now faces a litany of charges, including Attempted Murder, Assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied vehicle, felon in possession of a firearm, and felon in possession of ammunition. Currently held in Contra Costa County on a parole hold, he will be booked into Santa Cruz County to answer for these charges.
