Two Dead, Four Wounded In Downtown San Rafael Late-Night Shooting
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF/AP) -- Two men were killed and four people were wounded in a Friday night shooting at a parking facility near a nightclub in downtown San Rafael.
The shooting broke out in a parking structure near George's Nightclub in downtown San Rafael, where some of the victims had come to attend a concert, police said.
Witnesses told police that vehicles were fleeing the area at a high rate of speed and a responding officer saw a black Dodge Charger speeding away from the scene.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver failed to yield. The vehicle eventually stopped near the top of Wolfe Grade.
Officers located four people inside the vehicle, with two of the occupants suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim, a 25-year-old male from Fairfield sustained life threatening injuries. The second victim, a 25-year-old male from Pittsburg sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Other responding units arrived at the Lootens Place shooting scene. An additional gunshot victim was found in the parking structure. The victim, a 62-year-old man from San Rafael, was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"We believe a high-powered automatic rifle was the weapon used," Lt. Dan Fink, with San Rafael Police, told KPIX on Saturday.
At about the same time dispatch was notified of a traffic collision. Arriving officers discovered that the occupants in the vehicle were also victims of the downtown shooting.
One victim, a 24-year-old male from Stockton, was deceased at the scene and the second victim, a 29-year-old male from Stockton, was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
San Rafael dispatch was then notified of an additional victim who was dropped off at an area hospital. A vehicle pulled up to the emergency department and summoned help for one of his passengers. Once the victim was removed from the car by medical personnel the vehicle fled.
The victim, a 27-year-old man from Fairfield, died of his injuries at the hospital.
The victims told investigators they were either at the concert or on their way to it, he said.
No weapons were found in any of the vehicles. Gun casings from a high-powered automatic rifle were found at the garage.
A witness, who declined to provide his name fearing retaliation, said a gunman opened fire with an automatic assault rifle across the street from the garage. San Rafael police said they found dozens of shell casings at the scene.
"My friends and I were just returning from a pub crawl," he said. "We were celebrating a birthday. (We) heard the noises and took a few more steps forward and looked over and saw a man holding an AK-47 style weapon. He was holding it at about hip level."
He said the gunman fired indiscriminately at people inside the parking garage. He and eight friends ran into a nearby building to hide.
"It was rather jarring," he said. "I mean we were a couple of beers deep. So the emotions kind of came later. When the adrenaline wears off, the horror of the situation sets in."
The owner of George's Nightclub told the San Francisco Chronicle she informed police of plans to book Detroit-based rapper Icewear Vezzo two weeks earlier and officers stopped by Friday night to check the venue's security.
Additionally, eight private security guards staffed the event and "nothing happened inside," Esly Figueroa said.
She said there were no fights or no arguments and they had about "250 people inside" the club. Figueroa told KPIX 5 that police have ordered her to stop booking anymore rap concerts.
"I cannot do these events anymore, not Hip-Hop events," she said. "They told me clearly this is not Vallejo or Oakland. That hurt me so much when they say that."
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call San Rafael Police at (415) 485-3000. Tips can also be made online at http://www.srpd.org/tips
© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bay City News, the Associated Press and KPIX 5's Wilson Walker contributed to this report
