Update: Neighbor describes sound of shots, screams in fatal west Modesto shooting
An early Saturday shooting at a car driving along a street in west Modesto left one person in the car dead as well as injuring two others in the vehicle, according to police.
The car crashed into and knocked over a streetlight pole at the northeast corner of South Martin Luther King Drive and Oak Street, according to residents who live near the intersection.
Miguel Pena, 27, who lives in the house at the southeast corner of the intersection said shortly after midnight he heard what sounded like 20 gunshots from perhaps three different guns.
“Me and my family were all relaxing,” he said, “and we heard some commotion. Some guns going off.”
Pena said he initially thought it was people celebrating the holiday. But then he said he heard the kind of screaming people make when “you lose someone.” Pena said later his younger sister looked out the window and saw Modesto police officers at the intersection. Pena said there were three cars stopped in the intersection, including the one that crashed into the streetlight pole.
The Modesto Police Department reported on its Facebook page that officers responded to reports of a shooting at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Oak Street shortly after midnight. “Upon arrival,” the post said, “officers located three occupants of a vehicle that had been struck by gunfire.
“... One subject died on scene. The other two victims were transported to a local hospital and are expected to survive.”
Sgt. Michael Hicks said late Saturday morning that the person who died was a female, and that one of the two people taken to the hospital had been released. He did not know the relationship among the three people who had been in the car.
He said police questioned residents in the area of the shooting to determine whether they had any involvement. He said no arrests have been made, and detectives continue to follow up on leads.
Two other residents confirmed that the car struck the streetlight pole but did not have other details except that police closed the intersection for several hours as they investigated. Other residents said they slept through the incident or were not at home.
The scene was cleared at about 7:30 a.m., and traffic resumed to normal.
It was the third homicide in Stanislaus County in the last seven days and the sixth this month. Five of December’s homicides are being investigated by Modesto Police.
It was the 39th reported homicide in the county this year, including two officer-involved shootings. There were 32 homicides last year in the county and 44 in 2018.
Modesto police ask anyone with information that would help them with this investigation to call Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636.
This story was originally published December 26, 2020 at 8:05 AM.
