East Palo Alto Man ID'd In Random Shootings

EAST PALO ALTO, CA — Police have released the name of a man who allegedly shot at two East Palo Alto residents at random, striking one, on Monday afternoon. Oscar Alfredo Tapia Carmona, a 30-year-old East Palo Alto resident, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and driving with a suspended license.

Carmona was booked into the San Mateo County Jail.

East Palo Alto police said Carmona shot at a 35-year-old man, who said he was sitting in traffic at Scofield Street near Capitol Avenue when the suspect pointed a gun and shot at him. He was not hit by the gunfire.

The suspect, who was driving a silver SUV, fled from the scene but the victim started pursuing him in his vehicle, police said.Minutes later, the suspect turned the gun on a 65-year-old woman who was walking home from a 7-Eleven and shot at her twice, striking her once in the arm with enough force to knock her into the bushes, according to police. The man who was initially shot at stopped chasing the suspect to help the woman.

Police said Carmona was located a short time later in the 400 block of Emerson Street, where he was arrested. His SUV was located in the 100 block of Hamilton Avenue.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact East Palo Alto police by calling or texting (650) 409-6792 or emailing epa@tipnow.org.

— By Bay City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone