Benefit concert for two men shot outside of Parish Publick House in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The Parish Publick House in Santa Cruz, near where two shooting victims were in the November 15 drive-by will be hosting a fundraising concert from 8 until 11 p.m. Friday.
Twenty-percent of the concert's proceeds will be going to the victims, one identified as Richard Brookes, a special education teacher in San Jose's Franklin-McKinley School District.
"I was just talking to my friends about some friends who had passed on and how that taught us to just enjoy every moment of life," Brookes told KION's sister station, KTVU. "Then I felt an excruciating pain in my back."
Brookes says that he's grateful to be alive.
The bands in Friday's benefit concert will be Wildflower and Bees, and Diggin' Trails.
One week after the shooting and a thorough investigation, Santa Cruz Police say that they were able to identify and arrest the suspects; 20-year-old Esdras Plascencia and a 16-year-old juvenile from Monterey County.
Both are facing charges of attempted murder, and police are considering this a gang-related shooting.
Two people expected to survive after being shot in Santa Cruz, police say
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Santa Cruz Police said two people were injured after a shooting in front of a restaurant in the city on Friday night.
According to police, the shooting happened along Almar Avenue and Rankin Street around 8 p.m.
A police officer in the area reported hearing shots fired and rushed over to find two people suffering from gunshot wounds.
Investigators said the victims are expected to survive, however a suspect wasn't caught.
Police said witnesses told them a vehicle drove up to the front of the restaurant and started shooting, in what police believe is a possible gang related shooting.
Police later added the suspects intended to shoot someone in a rival gang, but the people who were shot were not affiliated with a gang.
According to police, this was an isolated incident and there's no threat to the public at this time.
Witnesses reportedly told police a silver sedan was seen speeding away from the scene immediately after the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 831-420-5820 to leave a message and can wish to do so anonymously.
