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Police: Suspects In 5 Stockton Shootings That Injured 9 Are Gang Members

STOCKTON (CBS13) — In a single night, nine people were shot in five separate locations in Stockton in a violent crime surge the city hasn't seen in the past year.

  • The first shooting happened at 8:30 p.m. on Eighth and Lincoln streets when a black SUV pulled up to a mother and her teen daughter and opened fire on their car.
  • The next, 15 minutes later on Spring Street, two men were shot.
  • More gunfire erupted on Wilson Way at around 9 p.m. with three more victims.
  • Seven minutes later on California Street, a 17-year-old boy was shot.
  • Then at 10:23 p.m., two teenage boys were shot while driving on West Lane in another drive-by shooting.

All nine of the victims survived, and Stockton Police spokesman Joe Silva says all of the suspects are gang members.

"We have approximately 70 gangs in the city, but not all of them are active at the same time," he said. "So Operation Ceasefire will actually look at seeing which gang is the most active or hyperactive and those are the gangs we will go after."

Community activist and former candidate for Stockton City Council Motecuzoma Sanchez says city leaders should look at the bigger picture on why Stockton has a violent reputation—a black market for stolen goods and the drug trade.

"There's a very active underground economy here and that leads to violence over competition for resources," Sanchez said.

Silva says Operation Ceasefire works. A task force and community members identify gang members and bring them in for a meeting on how to improve their lives, or risk a life in prison.

"Just last year at this same time, we had 18 homicides. So far this year, we're only at 9," he said.

Silva says warmer months historically lead to spikes in crime, but Sanchez says violence can happen at any time.

"Sometimes it can be, 'That person looked at me wrong and I felt disrespected.' In this city, in this environment where people don't have anything to hold on to, but their perceived sense of respect, sometimes that's worth fighting for," Sanchez said.

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