A string of unrelated crimes that included two stabbings on
opposite ends of town and a shooting near a middle school rounded
out a busy weekend for police.
A string of unrelated crimes that included two stabbings on opposite ends of town and a shooting near a middle school rounded out a busy weekend for police.
“I don’t know if it was the heat or what,” said Gilroy Police Sgt.
Wes Stanford. “It was busy this weekend.”
About 6 p.m. Friday evening, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed and beaten on the 500 block of Stoney Court by two Hispanic males dressed in red clothing, the color worn by Norteño gang members, police said. Police received numerous 911 calls reporting an assault in the east Gilroy neighborhood. As officers were en route, they received additional information that one of the involved parties may have been stabbed.
Upon their arrival, officers found the teen suffering from multiple serious stab wounds to the back, Stanford said. The teen was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital in an ambulance, then flown to a trauma center for treatment, police said.
Witnesses told police they believed they saw a car full of Norteño gang members approach the victim and his friends as they were walking on Stoney Court. The occupants of the vehicle challenged the group about possible Sureño gang membership or affiliation and then got out of the car and began chasing the victim and his friends, police said. One of the suspects caught up to the victim and stabbed him multiple times while a second suspect struck him with some type of wooden stick or club, police said.
The victim denied being in a gang and police have no record of him engaging in prior gang-related activities, Stanford said.
However, “Norteño gang members don’t necessarily limit their attacks to Sureño gang members,” he said.
Additionally, with its high population of recent immigrants, “we find that there are more victims on Stoney Court than suspects,” Stanford said. “Unfortunately, they tend to be victimized by imbedded Norteño gang members.”
A second stabbing took place under very different circumstances early Monday morning.
About 5 a.m., a man was leaving his house on the 200 block of Loupe Court, a cul-de-sac off Church Street in north Gilroy, when he was stabbed. The victim, who was heading to work when he was attacked, described the suspect as a “short,” middle-aged Hispanic male wearing a black baseball cap and a dark coat.
The victim sustained stab wounds to his wrist and upper torso, police said. He was transported to an area hospital to treat injuries that were not life-threatening.
At the scene, police located a seven-inch blade, which they believe was used to stab the victim.
Police are unsure of what motivated the stabbing, Stanford said.
In addition to the stabbings, shots rang out Sunday night near South Valley Middle School and police are still trying to determine if anyone was injured.
About 10 p.m., police received numerous calls reporting gunshots being fired near Forest Street and IOOF Avenue. By the time police arrived, the involved parties had already fled, but officers located numerous spent shell casings and a trail of broken glass in the roadway.
Witnesses reported that unknown subjects in two different vehicles were engaged in some type of altercation resulting in the gunshots being fired, said police, who would not release descriptions of the two vehicles.
Nobody in the neighborhood reported being hurt, Stanford said. It is unclear if the shooting was gang related, he said.
Anyone with information about these crimes may call 408-846-0350 or 800-782-7463 to remain anonymous.
