Mistaken identity led to fatal shooting of Calif. infant, say cops
/ CBS News
Police have arrested a 17-year-old suspected of being one of the two gunmen who opened fire on a car in the San Francisco Bay area, killing 3-month-old Izak Jesus Jimenez Garcia in an attack authorities said was prompted by a case of mistaken identity. Izak suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head when the gunmen shot at the car he was in with his family as they left a baby shower at 1 a.m. on Sunday, police say, reports CBS station KPIX.
Ivonne Garcia Lopez, the infant's mother, was shot in the leg during the attack. She said she threw herself over both her 4-year-old son Isaiah and Izak when they were being shot at. "They destroyed my family," Garcia Lopez said to the station. "I am so devastated with this loss." After trying to protect her children, Garcia Lopez noticed that Izak had been hit. "I took him out of the car seat and he had a hole in his head," she said through tears, reports KPIX.
Garcia Lopez's husband, 22-year-old Oscar Jimenez, called 911 to report the shooting and drove the family to Stanford Hospital, where Izak was declared dead at 2:15 a.m. The 17-year-old suspect and a 16-year old boy were arrested Sunday in East Palo Alto on weapons charges after police searches found three handguns - including the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting, Chief Ron Davis said.
Both teens were interviewed and the 17-year-old, who strongly resembled a composite sketch of one of the two suspects police were seeking, "implicated himself" in the homicide, police Capt. Jeff Liu said. Both are being held in juvenile hall. While the 17-year-old faces possible murder charges, the 16-year-old remains a strong person of interest in the incident, police said. Their names have not been released.
At a news conference on Monday Capt. Liu said investigators believe the 17-year-old was beaten up on May 31 by Sureno gang members and was looking to retaliate. He and a second person spotted the victims and mistook them for those gang members and opened fire, reports KPIX. A special team was formed to investigate the case, and the members are focusing on all known gang members in the area where the shooting happened. A $25,000 reward is still being offered in the case.
Police have arrested a 17-year-old suspected of being one of the two gunmen who opened fire on a car in the San Francisco Bay area, killing 3-month-old Izak Jesus Jimenez Garcia in an attack authorities said was prompted by a case of mistaken identity. Izak suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head when the gunmen shot at the car he was in with his family as they left a baby shower at 1 a.m. on Sunday, police say, reports CBS station KPIX.
Ivonne Garcia Lopez, the infant's mother, was shot in the leg during the attack. She said she threw herself over both her 4-year-old son Isaiah and Izak when they were being shot at. "They destroyed my family," Garcia Lopez said to the station. "I am so devastated with this loss." After trying to protect her children, Garcia Lopez noticed that Izak had been hit. "I took him out of the car seat and he had a hole in his head," she said through tears, reports KPIX.
Garcia Lopez's husband, 22-year-old Oscar Jimenez, called 911 to report the shooting and drove the family to Stanford Hospital, where Izak was declared dead at 2:15 a.m. The 17-year-old suspect and a 16-year old boy were arrested Sunday in East Palo Alto on weapons charges after police searches found three handguns - including the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting, Chief Ron Davis said.