Watsonville police seek public’s help in investigating 3 shootings within 48-hour span

Watsonville police are investigating three weekend shootings that, based on their work to date, do not appear to be connected to each other.

The shootings occurred in a nearly 48-hour span between early Saturday and early Monday. Two men — one of them injured critically — were shot, while there were no known victims in the third incident.

The first shooting, which occurred on the levee at the end of Walker Street, left a 46-year-old man with life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers responded to the area shortly after midnight on Saturday and found the victim down an embankment near a camp site. The victim was shot at least twice and was taken to an out-of-county trauma center.

Hours later, on Saturday night, officers were dispatched to the 300 block of Madison Street after a report of gunfire. No one was injured, but officers did find several shell casings and bullet holes on the outside of a home and two parked vehicles.

The third shooting occurred on Monday at 2:07 a.m. on Tharp Avenue. A 30-year-old man was inside a vehicle when he was shot multiple times. The victim was transported to a trauma center where is he is recovering and is expected to survive.

Police said they have no information about any suspects in the shooting cases. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Salvador Mendoza at (831) 768-3357 or the police department’s anonymous tip line at (831) 768-3544.