Police believe Menlo Park drive-by shooting was a targeted attack
Menlo Park police believe drive by shooting was a targeted attack
Menlo Park police said the violence took place around 1:30p.m., in the 500 block of Oak Grove Avenue, near Alma Street. Four people were sitting in a car, in a parking lot close to the Menlo Park Caltrain station, when shots were fired from a passing car.
MENLO PARK, Calif. - Menlo Park police detectives believe a drive-by shooting that happened Sunday was not random, but rather a targeted attack.
The city’s police chief characterized the crime as rare for the city.
"Very alarming for us. Very unusual in general in Menlo Park. It is very infrequent that we get shooting incidents of this type," said Chief Dave Norris.
Investigators said the violence took place around 1:30p.m. in the 500 block of Oak Grove Avenue, near Alma Street.
Four people were sitting in a car in a parking lot close, near the Menlo Park Caltrain station, when shots were fired from a passing car.
The noise startled a convenience store employee.
"I thought that somebody hit my (front) glass here. Because it was too much shouting. But afterwards I saw some bullets here," said Manjt Singh.
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Responding officers said one passenger was hit. That person was rushed to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
"This was an isolated incident. And the suspects immediately fled after the incident. So we don’t believe there’s any immediate danger in the area," said Chief Norris.
He said his officers' use of proactive policing has led to numbers of illegal firearm seizures.
Sheetal Patal, who has owned a nearby 7/11 for 17 years, says the most she’s had to deal with is theft and one hold-up. A drive-by shooting is a frightful first.
"I was really shocked. Because it never happened before. And knowing Menlo Park, it’s always safe. We don’t have any violence. Never ever," said Patel.
Her store clerk, Singh, added, "We always worry about this. Because sometimes you know, some bad persons. And with a gunshot, very scary for us."
Detectives are canvassing video from nearby security cameras to come up with vehicle and suspect descriptions.
"As soon as we have some more descriptive information, we’ll put that out," said Norris.
Menlo Park police urge anyone with information on the incident to call them.
Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter @JesseKTVU and Instagram @jessegontv