SPPD wants tips: Two shot, one seriously on East Virginia Terrace

An incident described as “a good possibility” of being gang related left two people wounded - one seriously - after a volley of shots was fired on East Virginia Terrace Tuesday night.

According to Santa Paula Police Senior Detective Ken Clark, the January 8 incident was reported about 9:25 p.m. in the 700 block of East Virginia Terrace. Clark said the two victims - a 26-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man - are both Santa Paula residents, and “It appears the male subject was a resident” of the residence where the shooting occurred. 

At this point details of the investigation are sketchy: “We don’t know how many suspects there were, but they fired multiple rounds” at the victims, starting the gunfire in an alley outside the residence. When the victims fled to the street, Clark said, they were fired on again.

Although there were reports of multiple shots being fired, Clark said investigators did not find evidence the victims “fired back” at those shooting at them. He noted, “It did not appear to be a gunfight from what we saw.” 

The female received a minor leg wound, but the male - their identities are being withheld by police - was shot “multiple times” in the lower body. “We don’t know the exact count,” said Clark. The male victim’s the wounds were not considered “life-threatening, but they were serious.”

The surrounding streets were shut down for the investigation, and Reserve Officers and Citizens Patrol were summoned to help with the investigation and traffic control. Santa Paula Fire EMTs and ambulance paramedics treated the victims at the scene before they were transported to Ventura County Medical Center. 

Although still early on in the investigation, Clark said, it “appears a good possibility” the attack was gang related. According to Clark, the SPPD is still determining the nature of the relationship between the two victims.