Modesto shootings wound two, one critically
Modesto police surrounded two homes in two shooting incidents Thursday. The victims in both survived, though one is in critical condition.
The first shooting occurred about 9:15 a.m. and resulted in a two-hour standoff in east Modesto. It came to a quiet end later that morning after two men surrendered at the house on Scenic Drive where a man had been shot in the backyard.
The victim suffered injuries to his leg, said Modesto police spokeswoman Heather Graves.
Police surrounded the home in the 3500 block of Scenic and implored the occupants to exit. As a law enforcement helicopter circled overhead, two men emerged from the house about an hour after the incident was reported.
Believing there were more people inside, police kept the house surrounded. About an hour later, after it was determined it was empty, law enforcement, including the SWAT team, broke down the perimeter.
The two men who emerged from the home near the quiet Wycliffe neighborhood were detained and interviewed, but neither was arrested in connection with the shooting.
One of the men, however, 28-year-old Fernando Gomez, was arrested on suspicion of battery on a peace officer. In an effort to escape, authorities said, he pushed the officer who came to check on him in the holding cell at the police station.
Scenic Drive was shut down from Claus Road on the east to Springfield Court on the west for about two hours.
Thursday afternoon, officers surrounded a house in west Modesto, where a man was shot in the back. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition in the evening.
Officers responded to the home in the 400 block of Los Olivos Way, where several people were ordered out of the house.
Graves said witnesses indicated someone had run into the home or jumped over the fence into the backyard, so officers surrounded it and began making loudspeaker announcements to anyone who might have remained inside.
After about an hour, officers entered the home with a police dog and found it empty. A suspect has not been identified.
This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Modesto shootings wound two, one critically."