Hollister
– A surge in gang violence has local police on high alert after
an alleged Norteño gang member was shot early Sunday.
Hollister – A surge in gang violence has local police on high alert after an alleged Norteño gang member was shot early Sunday.
Anthony Munoz, 25, was flown by helicopter to a San Jose area hospital after being shot at Canal Alley and Line Street in Hollister at 12:12am Sunday, police said. The shooting was the second incident of gang violence over the weekend and the sixth in the past month.
Munoz was hit four times by .45 caliber gunfire, said Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department. Two shots hit Munoz in the abdomen, another struck him in the right hip and the fourth hit him in the buttocks.
The last time someone was shot in Hollister was during a gang-related drive-by in the 1000 block of Sherwood Drive on Nov. 28, 2005, according to police records.
As of press time on Monday, Munoz remained at the hospital in stable condition, Betanio said.
Police believe Munoz has been a member of the Norteño street gang since he was a minor.
Authorities have no suspects, and do not know how the shooting occurred.
An officer responding to a report of the shooting was greeted by a crowd of angry people standing around the victim, Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said.
“The officer reported that the people who were out there were belligerent,” he said.
Officers had to move the crowd of 20 or so people away to get medical treatment for Munoz, Miller said.
None of the witnesses, or the victim, would tell investigators what had happened, Betanio said.
The lack of cooperation has authorities concerned.
“Gang incident retaliation is very big,” Betanio said. “Their way of dealing with it is handling it themselves. Most likely there will be retaliation.”
Investigating such an incident is difficult when the victim won’t cooperate, Miller said.
The shooting, which occurred just after midnight on Sunday, follows a violent first three months of the year.
Although there have been no injuries, the city has seen five gang-related drive-by shootings since mid-February.
A 15-year-old Hollister boy survived being stabbed six times in late January. The boy had claimed to be a Norteño when questioned by a group of out-of-town Sureños, a rival street gang.
Miller said the surge reflects a regional rise in gang violence and may be the biggest spate of gang activity he has seen since becoming Hollister’s police chief in September 2003. He said the department needs witnesses to step forward.
“We can’t end this unless we have community involvement,” Miller said.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting in encouraged to call the Hollister Police Department at 831-636-4330.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected].
