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Shooting In Watsonville Target Store Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured

WATSONVILLE (CBS SF) -- Watsonville police are searching for witnesses of a fatal shooting in a busy Target parking lot Saturday evening.

Officers responded to reports of gunfire in the Target shopping
center located at 1415 Main St. around 6:15 p.m., Watsonville police said.

Police found an 18-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman suffering from gunshot wounds in the store's parking lot. The 18-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was taken to Watsonville Community Hospital for injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

Investigators said it appears the victims, who were dating, were walking out of Target toward their car when suspects in a green Honda Accord drove by them. The Accord circled the parking lot and met the victims when they reached their car, police said.

The suspects stopped and opened fire, shooting the couple, before driving away, according to police.

The shooting is being investigated as a gang-related homicide, but it does not appear to be related to other recent murders in Santa Cruz County, police said.

Detectives are looking for new information from witnesses who were walking or driving in the shopping center or parking lot, which had a steady flow of traffic that evening.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Watsonville Police Department Investigation Division at (831) 786-3350 or the crime tip line at (831) 786-3544.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)

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