Quick Take
Two shootings less than a week apart, including one outside a popular Thursday night event at the Crow’s Nest restaurant, remain under investigation by the Santa Cruz Police Department. The three victims across the two cases remain in stable condition, but no suspects have been identified in either case.
The Santa Cruz Police Department continues to investigate two shootings that occurred in the city less than a week apart, but has yet to identify suspects or make arrests.
The first shooting happened shortly before 9 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the Santa Cruz Harbor parking lot in front of the Crow’s Nest restaurant during its weekly beach BBQ party — a free event that includes live music and an outdoor bar every Thursday evening from late May through late August. The remaining parties have since been canceled.
An SCPD release from Aug. 9 said that the shooting was prompted by an altercation in the parking lot, and that a suspect fled the scene in a black Dodge Charger. SCPD Deputy Chief Jon Bush told Lookout on Tuesday that not much has changed in the nearly two weeks since the shooting. Investigators are still trying to locate that vehicle and identify suspects.
Although witnesses at the scene theorized that the incident was gang-related, Bush said police do not know the motive. He added that both victims are alive and recovering in a trauma center. Investigators have spoken to only one of the victims, and Bush said he hopes speaking with the second will bring more clarity to the incident.
Bush said investigators will be mainly focused on physical evidence and video surveillance from the harbor area.
“We generally rely a lot on those, because they kind of speak for themselves,” he said. “Witness statements can sometimes be confused, mistaken or not as accurate. Without knowing whether this one is gang-related or not, people may not be as cooperative to come talk.”
Bush said he couldn’t discuss details surrounding physical evidence at the scene, but he said that forensics and DNA testing could move things forward.
“It will help us pinpoint who was there, if the stories are conflicting, and it’ll help us tell a story of what exactly happened,” he said.
The second shooting happened along the San Lorenzo River levee near Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz. That incident occurred last Tuesday, Aug. 13, around 7:30 p.m. A police statement the following day said investigators began “immediate follow-up” and learned that the shooting was, again, caused by some kind of prior altercation, and added that the incident was “possibly gang-related.” The suspect fled on foot.
Bush said that, like the Crow’s Nest shooting, investigators are still working to identify a suspect and reviewing nearby video surveillance to try to find a view of the area before and after the shooting. He said the victim remains in “critical but stable condition.”
Bush also said that investigators have reason to believe that the incident was gang-related due to “statements claiming gang affiliation that were made by the suspect during the altercation.” Given the hesitancy for witnesses to come forward and the arduous task of scouring surveillance footage, he said that this type of investigation is often slow-moving.
“We really have to develop the suspect information on our own, and that’s generally through physical evidence, video surveillance and re-interviews of people,” Bush said, adding that video surveillance is likely the most important factor in putting a full picture together. “That’s why these kinds of cases take a while.”
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