Gunfire Near Elementary School Prompts Lockdown, 16-Year-Old Arrested

SAN PABLO, CA — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday after gunfire near an elementary school in San Pablo forced a precautionary campus lockdown and sparked a search, police said.

Police said officers received reports at 9:42 a.m. Tuesday of a shooting at 20th Street and Sanford Avenue, about a block from Downer Elementary School.

"A witness reported hearing gunshots, and saw a male suspect pointing a handgun at a vehicle with tinted windows," a statement from the San Pablo Police Department said Wednesday.

Both the suspect and the vehicle fled in opposite directions before officers arrived. No victims were found, but investigators recovered multiple shell casings in the roadway. Because of the shooting's proximity to the school, officers contacted administrators and placed the campus on lockdown, which lasted until about 1:40 p.m.

Detectives later identified a juvenile suspect and served a search warrant at a residence in the 1800 block of Wilcox Avenue, where they arrested a 22-year-old male relative on suspicion of being an accessory. Evidence linked to the shooting was recovered, police said.

The teenager was then found at Richmond High School, where he was taken into custody.

"Based on the preliminary investigation, Detectives believe this was an isolated incident and that the occupant(s) of the vehicle were the intended target(s) of this shooting," police said.

The juvenile was booked into Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of firearms-related crimes. Police did not say whether anyone in the vehicle was injured.

Police urge anyone with information about the case to contact the department's Investigations Division at (510) 215-3150.

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