Gang Gunfire Injures 2 During Oxnard Wake

OXNARD — The peace of a funeral wake at an apartment complex in north Oxnard was shattered Wednesday by gunfire as gang members fired up to a dozen rounds from a rifle, hitting two people milling about the front door of the residence.

Injured were 19-year-old Mike Adams and 34-year-old Rolanda Tutt, both of Oxnard. Adams was shot twice in the leg, and Tutt was hit in the back. Both were taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center for treatment, where they were listed in stable condition.

Both were able to walk after the shooting, friends said.

Witnesses told police that about 5 p.m., a light-blue or gray Ford Taurus with three young men drove by a residence in the 1400 block of Azalea Street where family members were mourning the death of a 6-month-old boy who was buried earlier that afternoon.

The men, who all had shaved heads, shouted something at those gathered, threw a beer bottle and then sped away, witnesses said.

But the car soon returned and one of the young men got out with a rifle, shouted gang slogans and started firing, Oxnard Police Sgt. Bob Thomas said.

“It must have been a dozen or more shots,” Thomas said. Police believe that they were fired by a small caliber rifle, possibly a .22.

The gunman went right up to the door of the apartment where more than 20 family members and friends were crouched and scurrying for safety, he said.

“I don’t know what this was about,” said Dollie Morrow, 35, who was at the wake. “It just seemed like some Northside boys just being stupid. I don’t think anybody knew them.”

After the shooting, several young men who were part of the funeral party milled around outside the apartment complex discussing the shooting with police, but refused to give their names. A few loudly vowed revenge.

Police would not speculate about the possibility of more gang violence in the area.

“I wouldn’t do that,” said Cmdr. Joe Munoz, who heads Oxnard’s major crimes division. “But of course we take that kind of thing seriously. That’s why we have a gang investigator out here.”

Det. Terry Burr, who handles gang enforcement, arrived to interview witnesses. Crime scene specialists marked off more than a dozen shell casings that littered the apartment complex’s courtyard.

“Just like any gang shooting, we’re on it right off the bat,” Munoz said.

Police and paramedics said they have responded to violent incidents in the area before.

One neighbor who lived near the shooting scene and did not want to give her name said simply: “It’s a very bad street.”