Man Shot After Craigslist Sting Goes Awry

STOCKTON (CBS13) – A man was shot multiple times while trying to carry out a sting on a suspect who allegedly took a family member's car stereo, authorities said.

The Modesto Police Department said the victim of a car burglary spotted her stolen stereo on a Craigslist posting and arranged to meet the suspect in a parking lot on the 2700 block of Country Club Boulevard on Friday evening.

The woman and three family members confronted the suspect, who immediately opened fire with a handgun and fled the scene in a car. One of the family members, a 33-year-old man, was hit with five bullets in the torso, authorities said.

The sudden violence sent nearby business employees and shoppers scrambling for cover, according to Kevin Tereb, who was working in a smoke shop close to the gunfire.

"In a parking lot in a safe neighborhood like this, it's pretty scary, you know?" Tereb said.

Modesto Police Officer Pete Smith said the suspect was not located and is still at large, and the shooting victim was rushed to the hospital where he is in stable condition.

Authorities said it can be helpful for victims to keep an eye on online classifieds to search for stolen goods, but police never recommend that victims confront the suspects on their own.

"You certainly don't want to insert yourself into this type of volatile and unpredictable situation," Officer Smith said.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, weighing about 150 pounds with black hair, and was wearing a black and red 49ers cap and black shirt. The unidentified man fled in a light blue mid-1980s Cadillac.