San Mateo Police: Last Week's Homicide Resulted in Rash of Shootings
SAN MATEO (CBS SF) -- Detectives said Thursday they believe a shooting that resulted in the death of a 30-year-old man and the wounding of a child led to a rash of shootings over the following week.
The initial shooting occurred October 30 around 9:30 a.m. on the 1600 Block of Eleanor Drive. Responding to reports of a shooting, officers arrived to find the unresponsive man and the injured child in the driveway. Despite medical intervention, the man died from his injuries at the scene.
The child returned home after being treated for his injuries at a nearby hospital.
The next day, San Mateo Police received reports of another shooting on the 900 block of S Norfolk Street around 1:12 a.m. Responding officers arrived to find an "uncooperative crowd" who, after some prodding, stated that the shooting came from a vehicle driving by and no one was injured.
A few days later on Nov. 5, police received reports of two more shootings -- one on Edna Way at around 2:28 a.m., and another on S. Norfolk around 2:57a.m.. There were no injuries from either incident and officers were unable to confirm that the second one even happened.
Believing all these shootings are connected, police increased patrols in the area.
"We understand the concerns of our community members and we are responding by doubling our police presence to ensure high visibility around San Mateo," a statement from the San Mateo Police read. "The safety of our citizens is our top priority."
Police warned residents of multiple funeral events occurring over the next 10 days, which could create large crowds and traffic jams in the area of 19th Avenue Park and the Shoreview neighborhoods at all hours of the day.
Officers added that they've also received multiple reports of "civilians closing streets along Eleanor Drive and shining flashlights into occupied cars." These unauthorized roadblocks are illegal and police promise to address them when they hear of them.
San Mateo Police requested that anyone with information or surveillance footage related to these shootings contact Detective Sergeant Paul Pak at (650) 522-7660 or pak@cityofsanmateo.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted to tinyurl.com/SMPDTips or by calling (650) 522-7676.