CATHEDRAL CITY (AP) — A dead teenage mother was found cradling her wounded infant son after a Southern California desert drive-by shooting that left two people dead and four others wounded, Cathedral City police said Wednesday.
The victims were standing between two parked cars at 6:24 p.m. Tuesday in the Dream Homes neighborhood when a vehicle pulled up and the driver asked, “Where you from?” The driver then pointed a handgun and fired at the group through an open window before driving away, said Lt. Chuck Robinson.
The 16-year-old mother and 20-year-old Augustine Garcia, who police said is a known gang member, were killed.
The teen’s 2-month-old son was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center with a leg wound.
A 15-year-old boy, also identified as a gang member, was in critical condition after surgery and Daniel Ayala, 38, was in serious condition at a Palm Springs hospital. They had multiple gunshot wounds.
A 14-year-old girl shot in the arm faced surgery but her wound isn’t considered serious.
The names of the minor victims were withheld by police and the Riverside County coroner’s office.
The California Highway Patrol and Cathedral City police searched for the suspect’s Chevrolet HHR, a retro-style sport utility vehicle, but no one has been arrested.
KPSP-TV and the Palm Springs Desert Sun were first to report the shooting.
Cathedral City is in the Coachella Valley about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.
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4 Comments
I’m glad to know the infant has another chance at life. Even if the mother wasn’t actively involved in a gang, when are people going to learn that even associating with gang members puts their lives at risk? Watch the company you keep.
November 3, 2010 at 11:17 am | | Report comment
Live like a gang banger, Die like a gang banger. Do you think you’re invincible?
November 3, 2010 at 11:48 am | | Report comment
So sad that when I use to live up in the I.E./ San Bernardino area, we never had any gangs out there, now i visit and there’s graffiti everywhere and people are afraid to come out. Police/copters out, sad…
November 3, 2010 at 11:52 am | | Report comment
I guess you never considered the Hells Angels a gang, because they are white?
Nazi LowRiders, Aryan Brotherhood?
November 3, 2010 at 12:36 pm | | Report comment