Two different boys, two separate shootings, two deaths.
On Wednesday morning in broad daylight, 17-year-old Felipe Rocha Sandoval was shot multiple times while at Acosta Plaza in East Salinas.
It was 11:20am when authorities received calls reporting gunfire, and shortly after, a call about a man down. Salinas police officers arrived and found Sandoval injured; he died on the street.
Although the shooting was in the middle of the day, police say they are working with few leads about the suspects.
Less than a day before, the same occurred when a 16-year-old boy, Jose Luis Valdez, was gunned down. And not too far away from Acosta Plaza.
Valdez was leaving an apartment complex on Garner Avenue Tuesday night, on his way to meet some friends, when a gunman opened fire and struck him multiple times. Stray bullets from this shooting also hit a 12-year-old boy in the hand—a bullet passed through the wall of his apartment and struck him while he was inside. He is recovering from his injuries.
Both killings are being investigated by Salinas police as gang-related. It remains unclear if Wednesday's shooting was in retaliation to Valdez's killing.
Whatever the motive, these deaths add to Salinas' tally of 10 homicides so far this year.
Any person with information regarding the killings is urged to contact police at 758-7145 or at 758-7929. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call 775-4222.