UNION CITY — After an exchange of gunfire with police late Monday, three teenagers were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of an officer and “numerous weapons violations,” authorities said.
One teen wounded in the shooting did not suffer life-threatening injuries and was arrested with the other two after trying to flee, police Lt. Travis Souza said. An ambulance took the wounded boy to a hospital.
None of the officers was injured. “We feel very lucky,” Souza said.
The situation unfolded at 11:35 p.m. when officers patrolling the area after reports of recent shootings attempted to stop a car in the area of E Street and Railroad Avenue, police said. As officers were making the stop, an exchange of gunfire erupted between the people inside the vehicle and several officers.
Following the exchange of gunfire, the group drove to the area of Railroad Avenue and Whipple Road, where all three suspects ran into surrounding neighborhoods, police said. Officers found all three.
The violence erupted only four days after five people were shot at a local cemetery and funeral home. All five survived the June 14 shooting at Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery on Mission Boulevard.
“At this stage, we’re not confirming or denying that this [officer-involved] shooting is related to last week’s incident,” Souza said.
“We’re exploring every possibility. What’s happened is you have one really violent incident, then you have another before you barely have time to catch your breath. So it’s hard to determine for sure what might be at play. We’d hate to say, ‘Yes, it’s related,’ and find out later that it’s not, just like we’d hate to say, ‘No, it isn’t related,’ and find out later that it is.”
The initial investigation caused police to close down Whipple Road between Railroad Avenue and Ithaca Street, and it remained closed at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Drivers were detoured through that area.
Souza said the investigations into both this shooting and last week’s were ongoing.
Anyone with information should call Union City police Det. Ryan Seto at 510-675-5207 or may e-mail tips@unioncity.org.
Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report.
