Shooting shocks mall
19-year-old dies after being shot in chest; suspects at large
By GRETCHEN WENNER and SARAH RUBY, Californian staff writers
e-mail: gwenner@bakersfield.com, sruby@bakersfield.com
Posted: Tuesday December 27th, 2005, 11:35 PM
Gunfire killed a 19-year-old Bakersfield man inside Valley Plaza mall Tuesday evening, creating chaos as shoppers ran for exits and fights broke out, police and witnesses said.
Bakersfield police say a bullet fired around 6:21 p.m. hit a man in the chest, killing him. An aunt at the scene identified the victim as D'Andre Marzette. Police confirmed the information but spelled the first name Deondre.
The shooting occurred after two groups of men bumped into each other in front of Champs Sports, said police Detective Mary DeGeare.
Police were looking for the suspected shooter and a second man Tuesday night. Several people were detained, including one with a non-functioning gun.
The incident may be gang-related, police said. Some of the detainees told officers they had gang ties, DeGeare said. She said the two groups involved in the confrontation knew each other.
Mall surveillance cameras caught the shooting on tape.
...
The Ming Avenue mall was crowded with post-Christmas shoppers, witnesses said.
"The place was packed," said Randy Martin, 38, who was browsing in The Finish Line when he heard a loud pop. It sounded like glass breaking or something falling, he said.
"The next thing I know, it's like a stampede," Martin said.
People were screaming, yelling and running through the mall.
Store workers and mall guards started shutting and locking gates in stores, he said.
Martin, whose wife, Kim, was shopping at the Gap, jumped through the gate before it closed.
The chaotic exodus lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, he said.
"It was kind of freaky," Martin said of the scene. "Any character you can imagine -- they were running by."
Mall security had used a special code to initiate the quick lockdown, DeGeare said. "It was fortunate no one else was hurt" as people raced to get out, she said.
people outside of the central valley don't actually think "gang-related shooting" when they think "bakersfield." they are more likely to think: "farmers," "republicans," "oil," "buck owens," etc. to a certain extent, even those of us who live here (or who are from here) think those same stereotypical things about bakersfield. unless, of course, we live in a part of town that is marked by gang activity.
the reason that the violence "shocked" us (as the title of the article would indicate) is because it occurred in the mall--a public space where people from several neighorhoods, some gang-infested, some not, converge. all of a sudden, the violence that had previously been confined to particular neighborhoods has become visible, even palpable, to those of us who usually have the luxury of ignoring it.
interestingly enough, the mall was crowded again today. my mom and i went to run errands earlier this afternoon and found the parking lots full, the customer service lines long. nobody that i saw seemed skittish, though i have to confess that i did feel ... unsettled.
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2 comments:
The gang problem is perplexing on some levels to me. I'm surprised that in this day and age, gang violence anywhere "shocks" anyone given our access to news channels, internet, satellite TV, etc.. Yet, it often takes an incident like this to shock the conscience of a community to take action. I hope that it will have that affect where people will look for real solutions and not just "more police on the streets".
Since I hardly ever watch local news channels you were my source for this incident. It was shocking. I would never think that something like that would happen inside that mall. wow.
What a Christmas season huh? So sad. In nearby Farmersville an 8 year old kid was shot by what some claim to be a gang member.
I think the valley in general has a gang problem.
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