No Arrests In Union City Double Homicide

UNION CITY, CA — Union City Police have not yet made any arrests in a double homicide that claimed two young lives early Saturday morning, Police Lt. Steve Mendez told Patch in an email on Monday, but they are following several strong leads including a purported video of the crime.

The boys were just 11 and 14 years old. They were shot while sitting in a van in the parking lot of Searles Elementary School around 1:30 a.m.

The older boy was pronounced dead at the scene, while the younger boy died as he was being rushed to the hospital.

Their names have not been officially released because of their ages, although two GoFundMe accounts have been set up identifying the boys as Sean and Kevin. There are photos included in the funding appeals. One is labeled Funeral Expenses, which includes a photo of one boy making an obscene gesture, while another shows a boy displaying a wad of cash including at least one $100 bill. The second fund is labeled Funeral Expenses for Sean. GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner - always donate to verified accounts and at your own risk.

Mendez says that police are trying to determine whether a video circulating on social media shows the shooting. "At this time we have no comment on this and if it is a part of the investigation and does in fact depict the shooting, we will more than likely keep that information confidential because it is part of the investigation."

A neighbor, Gigi Erickson, was awakened by the sound of gun fire. She described the shooting to CBS-SF, "All of a sudden, we heard this pop, pop, pop, pop, I mean it just kept going, it almost sounded like a machine gun type, I mean it was just constant...I don’t know why an 11 or 14-year-old boy would be out at that time in the morning. I’m just so heartbroken that these kids had to go through that."

Investigators have a lot of information to sort through, including whether the double killing is tied to a double shooting that happened Wednesday night in Union City. At this point, no clear link has been established, Mendez says.

Despite the pair of double shootings, these are the first two homicides of the year in Union City.

Meanwhile, school superintendent John Thompson told the community in a social media post that one of the victims is currently a student at a New Haven school, while the other is a former student. "We will have support for our students and staff at the sites where these students attended when school resumes after the Thanksgiving break," Thompson wrote. "We also work closely with the Union City Police Department to ensure that our schools are as safe as they can be."

Police Lt. Steve Mendez expressed his condolences to the family and community, "This tragedy has touched every corner of the Union City community, but it is especially hard for those who live in our Decoto neighborhood. These victims – who were at the very beginning of their lives and had so much ahead of them – have been taken from those who loved them most, and we will do everything possible to provide support in the difficult days ahead."

If you have any information about the shooting, call Detective Joshua Clubb at (510) 675-5227. Information can also be provided using the police tip line at (510) 675-5207, or emailing tips@unioncity.org.