Antioch police investigate spate of shootings since Labor Day weekend
Police in Antioch are investigating and have increased patrols following nearly a dozen shootings since the Labor Day holiday weekend, which have injured several people.
According to officers, the wave of violence began on Sep. 2, when 21-year-old Elijah Scales was fatally shot on the 2100 block of Peppertree Way, near Sycamore Drive. Since Scales' death, nearly a dozen shootings have taken place, which police said may be related.
Most of the shootings have taken place in the neighborhood where Scales was shot. Eight of the shootings have occurred in the past five days, police said.
"This spate of violence will not be tolerated," Interim Police Chief Brian Addington said in a statement.
At least five people have been injured in the shootings, including a 31-year-old man who was shot in the leg on the 2100 block of Peppertree Way on Sep. 3 and a 52-year-old woman was shot in the leg in the parking lot of the Sycamore Square shopping center on Sep. 7.
On Sep. 12, a resident of a home on the 2100 block of Lemontree Way had suffered a minor injury after he was grazed by a stray bullet. Police said he did not require medical attention.
Police said two men were critically injured in separate shootings on Monday.
Shortly before 5 p.m., officers were called to the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds after at least 30 rounds were fired from multiple firearms. A man who was found shot on the property is in critical condition.
Around 7:45 p.m., at least four shots were fired on the 1800 block of Cavallo Road, where a memorial gathering for Scales was taking place.
A 58-year-old man attending the memorial was shot. As of Tuesday, he is in critical condition at a local hospital.
"We have rearranged staffing and assigned two officers to patrol the Sycamore Corridor for at least the next seven days," Addington said. "This effort aims to reduce gun violence and provide a sense of safety to the community and local businesses."
Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to contact Investigations Sgt. Bill Whitaker over email or by calling 925-779-6876.