Watsonville Teen Shot in Suspected Gang-Related Shooting

A Watsonville man was shot in a suspected gang-related shooting Sunday evening in Santa Cruz, police said.

Police were called to Dominican Hospital around 6 p.m. Sunday on a report of a victim with multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim, an 18-year-old Watsonville resident, said he had been shot while in a car in the 100 block of Chestnut Street. His girlfriend had then driven him to the hospital in the same car, police said.

No gunshots had been reported in the 100 block of Chestnut Street, but police found evidence that a shooting had occurred in a parking lot there.

The victim said a person in a hooded sweatshirt had walked up and fired multiple rounds into the passenger side of the car, and then ran away. Witnesses were not able to provide any further descriptions of the suspect or an associated vehicle, but police are reviewing video footage.

The victim was treated at Natividad Trauma Unit in Salinas for injuries to his upper body and hand, and later released.

Police believe the shooting was gang-related. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call investigators at (831) 420-5820.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock