String of Shootings Sparks Concern from Police

A series of shootings in Monrovia and the unincorporated areas nearby over the last week has drawn concern from police even though no victims have been identified, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

Shootings on Mar. 28, Mar. 31, and Apr. 2 have not resulted in any reported injuries, but police are asking for the public's help in identifying suspects or targets in the shootings that they assume are gang related.

"Certainly we have a lot of concerns with this happening like this," Chief Jim Hunt said Tuesday. "We haven't had any violence for a couple years now and there really hadn't been anything leading up to this."

Hunt said two additional shootings have been reported to the Sheriff's Department in unincorporated Monrovia over the last week.

The first shooting in city limits was reported in the evening of Mar. 28, Hunt said. Witnesses saw a white pickup driving along the 500 block of Almond Avenue.

"One of the subjects in the truck came out the driver's window and shot into the air," Hunt said.

No one was injured and there are no suspects in the shooting.

The next shooting came just before 11:30 p.m. the night of Mar. 31, when several residents on the 1200 block of Sherman Avenue reported that they heard gunshots. Police found shotgun shell casings in the street but did not locate any witnesses or victims, Hunt said.

The latest shooting also occurred on Sherman Avenue near Cherry Avenue, just footsteps away from new signs . The area was once a haven for gang members and has been the site of several gang shootings in the past.

Residents on Sherman reported hearing shots and police again found bullet casings--this time from handgun cartridges--but no other leads were uncovered.

"We don't have anybody who actually saw the shooter," Hunt said.

The shootings come after a long period of relatively quiet gang activity in town, which officials have credited to increased community outreach and the effectiveness of a gang injunction put in place after .

Recent gang graffiti from the Du Roc Crips, one of the gangs involved in the 2008 and 2009 killings, was found in unincorporated Monrovia, Hunt said.

Hunt asked anyone with information about the recent shootings to contact police.

"We want to identify who's doing this and who they're shooting at," he said. "We're certainly looking for people who may have seen something and can give us some leads."