Salinas officers identify the farm working victim killed in Saturday nights shooting
UPDATED: 03/28/2017 at 2:57 P.M.: Officer have identified the victim killed in the Saturday night shooting on Dennis Avenue as Fidencio Torres-Vega, 31, of Salinas.
According to officers Torres-Vega was shot in the driveway of a home on Dennis Avenue when he was visiting his cousin.
At least two gunmen approached Torres-Vega and his cousin and shot them several times.
Officers said it is still unknown if there was some type of confrontation before the shooting.
The suspects have been described as men wearing dark clothing and last seen running southbound on Dennis Avenue and Miami Street.
The motive for the shooting is still unknown but officers said they are investigating this shooting as gang related.
This was the 13th homicide of the year in the city of Salinas.
PREVIOUS STORY: Two men, cousins and said to be farm workers, were confronted Saturday night while drinking beer in a driveway by two suspects who pulled out guns and opened fire, according to the Salinas Police Department.
Both victims lived in Salinas and have no gang contacts, police said.
Just after 11 p.m., ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection and location system, alerted officers that 23 gunshots were fired in the 200 block of Dennis Avenue. Residents also began calling in reports of gunfire.
Officers found a 31-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The second victim, 33, had managed to run into the backyard after being shot multiple times. He was taken to Natividad Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police say it’s not known whether the victims spoke to the suspects before the shots were fired. The suspects ran westbound on Dennis Ave. and may have got in a vehicle near the intersection of Dennis Ave. and Miami St.
“Although the victims are not associated with any gangs, this shooting is indicative of being committed by gang members, therefore is being investigated as gang related,” according to Sgt. Christopher Lane with the Salinas Police Dept. in a press release issued this morning.
The name of homicide victim is being withheld until family can be notified.
This is the 13th homicide of the year in the City of Salinas.
