Crime & Safety

UPDATED: 14-Year-Old Boy Murdered

The gang shooting in rural Watsonville also injured a second teenager.

Updated, 2:15 p.m. Sunday: A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot in a highway turnout near Hecker Pass on Saturday night, the Sheriff's Office reported.

No arrests have been made in what detectives suspect is a gang-related slaying. However, investigators "are confident an arrest will be made soon," according to a statement released by the Sheriff's Office around noon Sunday.

The teenager and another boy, also 14, were shot on Highway 152 about four miles north of Watsonville around 8:15 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Both teens were taken to Watsonville Community Hospital. One died; the second boy was treated and released from the hospital. The name of the boy who was killed has not been released.

Sheriff's deputies have not found the gun used in the deadly shooting.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Saturday night's shooting is the sixth gang-related killing in South County this year. No arrests have been made in any of the slayings. In total, there have been eight homicides in the area in 2011.

Original story 10:30 a.m. Sunday: Two people were shot near the fairgrounds Saturday night, but detectives are not talking about the violence, including if anyone was killed.

"We're not releasing any information about it yet," Sheriff's Sgt. Joe Clark said Sunday morning, though he confirmed that a shooting had occurred.

The first 911 call came in around 8:15 p.m. when one of the victims called for help. The victim told a dispatcher he was in a field in the back of the .

Eventually, emergency responders found two shooting victims in separate areas off East Lake Avenue, according to emergency radio traffic. One was near mile marker 4.75, which is up the hill toward Hecker Pass.

A black vehicle may have been involved, according to emergency radio traffic.

One of the victims was critically injured and a medical helicopter was sent to Watsonville Municipal Airport to fly that victim to an out-of-county trauma center.

The other victim had minor injuries, according to emergency radio traffic.

Officers from the Santa Cruz and Watsonville police departments were called in to assist with the investigation, according to the Watsoville police log.

That stretch of East Lake Avenue, also called Highway 152, runs east from Watsonville over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Gilroy. It passes through agriculture fields, past the fairgrounds, as well as a school, Catholic church and several cemeteries.

The area would have been busy Saturday night, with evening Mass celebrations at the church and a crowd gathered for Coastal Collision 4, mixed marital arts fights at the fairgrounds.

Clark, the sheriff's sergeant, said some information may be released Sunday afternoon.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.