(Santa Cruz Police set up a crime scene in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Sunday evening where a teen was fatally shot. Swarms of police from the California Highway Patrol and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office joined Santa Cruz Police in searching for the possible suspects. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
SANTA CRUZ — Santa Cruz Police arrested two men and a juvenile Sunday who are suspected in a shooting that killed a 17-year-old male from Vacaville.
Santa Cruz Deputy Chief Dan Flippo said Javier Calvo, 18, was arrested a short time after the shooting for involuntary manslaughter.
The other adult and the juvenile have not been identified.
Police responded to a call at about 6:40 p.m. in the area of Second and Cliff Street — near the northwest corner of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk parking lot — after callers said they heard gunshots, Santa Cruz Police Lt. Christian Le Moss said.
Javier Calvo
Responding officers found the victim in a vehicle in the Boardwalk parking lot, unresponsive, with an apparent gunshot wound to his torso.
The officers rendered medical aid and coordinated Santa Cruz Fire Department Medics to the scene.
The victim was treated at the scene and taken to Dominican Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The shooting comes less than 24 hours after a 17-year-old male was stabbed at the opposite end of the Boardwalk from where the shooting took place.
Santa Cruz Police managed to take three juvenile males and an 18-year-old male, Oscar Ramirez, of Santa Cruz into custody regarding the stabbing. The victim was flown by rescue helicopter to an out-of-county trauma center. His condition has not been released. Police say the stabbing is gang-related.
At the shooting scene Sunday, Santa Cruz Police found a loaded handgun and additional ammunition inside the car, a maroon Scion, where the man was shot. The victim had been sitting in the rear, passenger-side seat.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol assisted in the initial investigation.
Flippo would not elaborate as to whether the shooting was an accident or intentional. He said the four people inside the car came to Santa Cruz from Vacaville.
“At some point they were sitting inside the vehicle inside the (Boardwalk) parking lot when the firearm was produced and one of the passengers in the vehicle was struck one time and later succumbed to his injuries,” Flippo said. “Everything was contained within the vehicle.”
Flippo said all the parties involved knew one another and came to town together.
“The motive of the shooting — or whether or not this was accidental or intentional is still being investigated,” he said. “The other thing that we are following up intensely is where did this firearm come from. We do believe that, according to statements, that the weapon did come from the city of Vacaville.”
When asked about the two violent incidents over the weekend Santa Cruz Mayor David Terrazas said, “Santa Cruz prioritizes public safety and I think that what this shows is that we will continue to work just as hard as we can to make sure our community remains a safe and visitor-friendly place. As a parent myself I want to make sure that all of our city is safe. Police are continuing to investigate the nature of the crimes and those that were involved. We need to prioritize public safety.”
The shooting is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Cruz Police Detectives at 420-5800.
