Turlock police investigating series of paintball attacks on bicyclists and pedestrians
Mitch Boehs was on his weekly bicycle ride with friends on Monte Vista Avenue in Turlock on Wednesday evening when he heard a series of pops and felt a sting in his left arm.
“I looked to the side, then I saw a guy leaning out the window of the car with a gun in his hand, shooting at us,” Boehs said.
It was when Boehs saw the orange paint on his arm that he realized what he and one of his friends were hit with.
“I have never been shot with anything in my life, so it was a little bit nerve wracking, to say the least,” he said.
Boehs’ case is one of at least eight paintball attacks reported to Turlock police since Tuesday, said Sgt. Mike Parmley.
The victims are “pedestrians and bicyclists being struck, aimed at, or even injured by these inexcusable assaults,” according to a press release.
Multiple witnesses reported the vehicle used in the attacks is believed to be a newer, dark gray Honda sedan.
The incidents have occurred all over town and involve victims from age 13 to 77, Parmley said. He described the injuries as minor to moderate.
People have posted about the attacks on social media and included photos of oozing, circular flesh wounds on arms, legs and torsos.
One woman whose juvenile son was hit said officers told her the suspects are likely freezing the paintball to inflict greater injury.
Boehs said the man who shot him was in the passenger seat so there were at least two, possibly three, people in the vehicle. He said he didn’t hear the suspects say anything but could hear them laughing.
Three of the attacks occurred Tuesday between 7:40 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. at Orange Street and Montana Avenue, on Broadway, and at the Mister Car Wash at 1400 Geer Road.
Five more attacks occurred during about a 10-minute time frame around 7 p.m. Wednesday. They were at Johnson Road and Hawkeye Avenue, Tuolumne Road and Hawkeye, Monte Vista and Berkeley Avenue, the Days Inn on Tully Road and at an apartment complex on East Canal Drive.
Parmley said there was also an incident on Monday evening on Monte Vista and Geer that involved a vehicle of similar description but a BB gun might have been used and it is unknown at this point if the shootings are related.
The cases have been assigned to a detective.
“We are taking the matter very seriously for the safety of the public,” Parmley said. “We are doing everything we can to identify these individuals and track them down and hold them accountable for what they are doing.”
Anyone with information about the paintball shootings is asked to call Turlock Police at 209-668-1200.
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This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 3:23 PM.
