King City police discuss recent crimes and joint gang task force
King City police said Brian Zuniga was behind a shooting that sent one person to the hospital Tuesday night. Officers are now looking for Zuniga, who they said is armed and dangerous.
The search comes after back-to-back shootings this week in King City that have police looking for solutions. NewsChannel 5 spoke to police and residents concerned about the continuing problem with crime.
Three homicides and 11 confirmed shootings have happened in King City this year. Now South County law enforcement talking about a specific gang task force for that area. We took the idea to the streets to see what residents thought.
“You’re just very aware of gunshots and where they are. A lot of people just kind of stay inside and kind of avoid the whole issue,” said a King City resident who didn’t want to be on camera because she feared gang members would come after her.
Tuesday night a 20-year-old man was shot in his car as he drove down San Antonio Drive. Police said another car approached the red Charger, at which point someone inside started shooting. The victim lost control of his car, which ended up on a curb.
“We are following up on leads, but that’s all I can tell you,” King City interim police chief Tony Sollecito said.
A couple nights ago several shots were fired at a mobile home park on Broadway. Nobody was hit, but officers don’t know if that shooting was gang related. However the department does believe Tuesday nights shooting was gang-related. NewsChannel 5 asked Sollecito if his officers were gang ready?
“Every officer that comes on this department gets a block training in gang awareness,” Sollecito said.
With the uptick in crime, the department said it will take part in a new South County joint gang task force.
“These are four very small cities with small resources in South County so we are looking at a partnership at this point in time with all the agencies and other agencies,” Sollecito said.
The details are still being worked out. The King City resident we spoke to said she’s lived in the city all her life and hopes the gang task force helps. But she’s just seen too much violence over the years to believe it a task force could help.
“It’s a good idea but I’ve seen it happen before where they already know what’s going on, these gang members already know what’s going on, they have a heads-up before it happens, and that’s kind of scary,” said a King City resident who asked to remain anonymous.
Investigators are actively pursuing leads in Tuesday night’s shooting. They believe Zuniga was in a silver or gray four-door Honda. Zuniga was involved in a chase with police last year, where they found a loaded gun in his car. If you know anything call police at 831-386-5980.
