Yakima- dumb surenos shoot farm worker for wearing red

YAKIMA, WASH. -- A 20-year-old Yakima man faces specialized surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his neck from a Sunday evening shooting that apparently was prompted by his red clothing, police said Monday.

Initial reports suggested that the man, who described himself as a farm worker, was not a gang member. Detectives said they had not developed any information to contradict his report, but the investigation was going slowly due to a lack of information about possible suspects.

The man told police that a blue van pulled alongside his vehicle at a stop sign at Seventh and Adams streets. The van's passenger fired one roundjavascript:void(0), which hit him in the left shoulder.

The man drove himself to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.

Police said the man was expected to recover, but has been transferred to an unspecified medical facility for specialized surgery. Because of the bullet's sensitive location, doctors wanted to make sure they did not do more damage taking it out, Yakima police Sgt. Tony Bennett said.

The incident was the latest of several shootings involving apparently innocent victims since last summer, when gang-related shootings spiked in the Yakima Valley.

Last July, a stray shot from a gang fight struck the leg of a 23-year-old woman visiting from Lansing, Mich.

That shooting came just six days after a 13-year-old girl who lived two blocks down the same street in north-central Yakima was seriously injured when shots were fired into her Roosevelt Avenue home. Police said her family had no known gang connections.

Neither of those incidents were fatal, but in 2005 a shooting reportedly inspired by a red sweatshirt claimed the life of 21-year-old Octavio Abundiz Jr. in Yakima.

Friends said he was not a gang member. He worked as a cook and dreamed of a career in law enforcement, they said.

Bennett said residents should not be overly concerned about wearing red or blue clothing, noting that he often wears such shirts. But he said the incident highlights the need for parents to stay aware of what their children are wearing and who they are associating with.

Gang clothing generally involves multiple elements beyond the shirt, including certain types of pants, belts, shoes and shoelaces.


* Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/03/22/farm-worker-shot-while-wearing-red-needs-specialized-surgery