Man Sitting Near Pajaro River Levee Shot As Pair Tries Stealing His Mountain Bike

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – A Watsonville man was shot in the torso Sunday evening in what appears to be a gang-related shooting in his hometown, police said.

Officers were dispatched at 7:21 p.m. to Walker Street and the Pajaro River levee where they found the 46-year-old victim with injuries not considered life-threatening.

Officers discovered that two men approached the victim who was on the levee and asked him what was his gang affiliation.

The suspects then tried to steal the man's mountain bike. During the struggle one of the suspects shot the victim, police said.

The victim crawled to the end of Walker Street and summoned help from a passerby. When paramedics arrived, they took the man to a trauma center.

The suspects, identified as Hispanic men, fled the area before police could find them.

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--Bay City News/File photo