With child in car, man shoots suspected romantic rival in downtown Modesto, police say
With his school-age child sitting in his car, a man approached and shot another man he believed was dating the child’s mother, Modesto police report.
The shooting occurred about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of 14th and K streets downtown, Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said Thursday.
The victim, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, flagged down an ambulance on Ninth Street and was taken to Memorial Medical Center on Coffee Road. His wounds were not life-threatening, Bear said, and he is expected to recover fully.
The victim told investigating officers that he was sitting in his vehicle when Derrick Arnold, 28, of Modesto, walked up, shot him and left. “The suspect believed the victim was dating the suspect’s child’s mom,” Bear said. “Arnold also had their child with him in his vehicle.”
Officers located Arnold at his northwest Modesto home and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a firearm and child endangerment, Bear said. He remained in custody Thursday morning, with bail set at $550,000. Police identified the child only as school age and under 10 years old.
While officers were at the Coffee Road hospital interviewing the victim, Sutter Health reported to emergency dispatch that staff had reason to believe a man possibly armed with a gun was on his way to Memorial. This was a separate incident from the shooting.
A description of the man was provided, and officers in the area located the man in the area of Coffee Road and Orangeburg Avenue, about a half mile away.
The man had made vague threats, and he had no gun, Bear said. He was held on a mental health evaluation but as of Thursday morning had not been booked on criminal charges.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 12:09 PM.
