Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011

Two men shot outside a Los Banos home

Police said shooting is gang related

Two men were shot in front of their home Saturday night in what police believe was a gang-related incident.

The Los Banos Police Department responded to the 100 block of Second Street for a report of gunshots at 10:16 p.m.

At the scene officers located two men who were wounded. One of them, a 20-year-old male, was suffering from a gunshot to the thigh while the other man,24, was shot in the upper torso.

Officers were told that the suspects were two Hispanic males who shot the victims in front of their residence before fleeing the area in a light colored sedan.

The 24-year-old victim was airlifted to Doctors Medical Center and is reportedly in critical condition. The second victim was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center and is in stable condition. Both hospitals are in Modesto.

Police are investigating the shooting as a gang-related incident. There have been 17 shootings in Los Banos since April, 14 of them gang related.

On Aug. 7 two brothers, Ruben Sanchez, 34, and Angel Rodriguez, 30, died after being shot on the 500 block of I Street near Club Azul. Cmdr. Ray Reyna Jr. said at this point police do not know if Saturday’s shootings are connected with the killings.

The police department is asking anyone with information to contact Detective Justin Melden at (209) 827-7070 ext. 114 or leave an anonymous tip on the city website at www.losbanos.org