I-80 Shooting That Hurt Toddler, 2 Others Linked To Other Highway Shootings
RICHMOND (CBS SF) – A shooting that injured two people and a toddler on Interstate Highway 80 in Richmond on Monday is being investigated as potentially linked to other recent shootings on the highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer Daniel Hill confirmed Tuesday afternoon that investigators are looking into possible connections between Monday's incident and four other shootings along Highway 80 in the East Bay that started in early November.
Monday's shooting was first reported at 7:45 p.m. in the highway's eastbound lanes near Richmond Parkway. Responding officers located a driver who had pulled their vehicle off the highway and into a nearby gas station.
"The bullet entered through the right rear window and hit the left rear headrest," said CHP Sgt. Melissa Kittel. "So the driver seat headrest, it hit the back of it and then it exited the left passenger window.
The bullet missed all five people in the car, including three kids who were in the backseat. The mom checked on her two-year-old to find the toddler suffered minor injuries from flying glass. The toddler was treated at the scene.
"It's pretty miraculous that none of the occupants were hit," "Especially the three children that were seated in the backseat."
At the same time, officers learned that a female teenager and a man in his 20s were dropped off at a hospital shortly after the shooting, CHP officials said. They suffered injuries not considered life-threatening.
Investigators believe the suspects were targeting those two and that the driver of the other vehicle -- the one parked at the gas station -- was an innocent passing motorist, CHP officials said.
CHP officials emphasized that this was a targeted shooting and that there was no threat posed to the general public.
The other recent shootings on the highway were also said to be targeted and were being investigated as possibly gang-related, according to the CHP.
Most recently, on Dec. 17, a person suffered injuries during a shooting on westbound Highway 80 near San Pablo Dam Road.
Before that, a family of three was shot at while driving east on the highway in Berkeley between Ashby and University avenues on Nov. 24, and suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.
San Mateo resident Anthonio Ragland, 25, was shot and killed and his female passenger was injured on Nov. 10 while driving east on the highway in Pinole near Pinole Valley Road, and a man was shot and injured on the highway in San Pablo on Nov. 2.
No arrests have been announced in those cases. Including the incident Monday night, the count is now up to six shootings.
The family who was caught up in the shooting Monday night and came out relatively unscathed was extremely lucky, authorities said
"So they should count their blessings tonight," said Kittel. "Definitely pretty miraculous."
Anyone with information about the incidents was asked to contact CHP investigators at (707) 551-4100.
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