Five people were arrested in the shooting death of Morgan Hill resident Tara Romero, 14, a victim of an apparent drive-by attack Friday night.
Romero was one of four teenage shooting victims who were walking through the neighborhood near Village Avante apartments when gunshots rang out through the sprawling residential complex.
Other victims include a 14-year-old girl from San Jose with a bullet wound to her right leg, a 15-year-old boy from Morgan Hill who was shot in the leg, and a 14-year-old San Jose girl who was shot in the stomach, Morgan Hill police Capt. Jerry Neumayer said.
Two of the females were taken to Valley Medical Center, and the male was taken to San Jose Regional hospital, where he was treated and released, police said.
The two victims from San Jose were in town for a birthday party, which they were celebrating with Romero and the fourth victim, Neumayer said.
The shooting happened about 9:30 p.m. Suspects in an unidentified vehicle rounded the corner at Cosmo and Del Monte avenues and shot at the group who was on foot, witnesses said. The vehicle continued north on Del Monte Avenue.
A Morgan Hill officer was patrolling the area when the incident was reported to dispatch, Neumayer said. The officer saw the suspicious vehicle fleeing the scene and chased it to an address on Barnell Avenue.
Police set up a perimeter around the residence, and called out the suspected shooters with the help of Gilroy police, California Highway Patrol, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies and the Morgan Hill-Gilroy SWAT team, Neumayer said.
Arrested were Esmeling Bahena, 18 of Morgan Hill; Ricardo Diaz, 19 of Morgan Hill; Fernando Mateo, 20 of Gilroy; Primitovo Hernandez, 23 of San Jose; and a 17-year-old male from Morgan Hill. The four adults were booked into county jail, and the 17-year-old was booked into juvenile hall, all on suspicion of homicide and attempted homicide.
Police found a hand gun and an assault weapon in the vehicle, Neumayer said.
A young man who was visiting his aunt in an apartment just outside the crime scene said he heard the gunshots from inside and immediately ducked and held his nephew close to the floor. When the shooting stopped, Alfredo Garcia, 21 of Morgan Hill, went outside and saw a cloud of smoke lingering above the street.
Garcia said he held a female victim’s wound to slow the bleeding, and kept her awake until police arrived. He did not know any of the victims, but he and other residents said none of them lived at the apartment complex. They were reportedly walking out of the Community Park, on the south side of Cosmo Avenue, when the incident happened.
“Poor little innocent girls, they were just minding their business,” said a 29-year-old woman who was one of the first witnesses outside after the shooting. The woman, who declined to give her name, and her five sons were visiting her mother who lives at Village Avante. She was blankly staring at the scene Saturday morning.
Puddles of blood thickly stained the strip of grass next to the sidewalk, indicating where the victims fell after being shot.Â
Witnesses carried Romero to another patch of grass in an alley between two of the apartment buildings, about 40 feet away from where the teens were shot. A white rose lay on the blood puddle where Romero reportedly died Saturday morning. On Sunday morning the site of Romero’s death was covered with candles, flowers, photographs and balloons. A resident of the apartment complex, who did not know any of the victims, was re-lighting candles that were drenched by Saturday night’s rain showers.
Romero died before paramedics were able to take her to a hospital, the witnesses said.
Police barricaded a wide perimeter around the shooting scene for several hours after the incident, blocking all approaching motor and foot traffic while officers investigated. Bullet holes on wooden fences surrounding residential patios were circled with spray paint.
A 12-year-old boy was watching television at home alone when one of the rounds entered his living room, putting a bullet hole in the wall near the ceiling. The boy’s father, Leopoldo Cervantes, 62, showed where the bullet came through the fence outside, into the apartment’s dining room, through two bathroom walls and into the living room.
Police said three apartments were shot by stray bullets.
Romero was a freshman at Sobrato High School. Some of her classmates were at the scene Saturday morning on their bicycles.
“She was really nice. She was friends with everybody,” said Christopher Romo, 17, a junior at Sobrato High.
Joseph Romero, Tara’s father, last saw his daughter Tuesday when he was in Morgan Hill. He said she was excited about being in high school, and talked about the drama class she was taking. Tara was “happy-go-lucky” and always smiling. Even though she was sometimes “chatty” during school, she was a good student who excelled in math, and wanted to go to college, said Joseph, 47, who now lives in Los Angeles. “She was respectful (at school) when she had to be,” he said on the phone Saturday. “You wouldn’t find a more caring daughter than her.”
The teen’s father was looking forward to Tara’s 15th birthday, which would have been Feb. 2. He was thinking about throwing her a surprise party.
“I’ve never had this kind of tragedy before. I can’t get over it,” Joseph Romero said, adding that his son, Tara’s 23-year-old brother, will miss her.
A Facebook page titled “RIP Tara Romero” was set up by Saturday morning. More than 1,000 Facebook users “liked” the page by the afternoon. Romero’s family, friends and acquaintances posted comments in tribute to the teen.
The last murder in Morgan Hill happened Oct. 4, 2009, when Juan Arellano, Jr., was shot with a handgun outside the Crest Avenue apartments on the 17600 Crest Ave. That incident was gang-related, but no one has been arrested in connection with the murder, police said.
Neumayer did not say if Friday night’s shooting was gang-related.
