Post-Concert Shooting Leaves Bullet Holes, Questions

SANTA CRUZ - A shooting after a concert late Sunday night in downtown Santa Cruz damaged a car with three people inside, police said.

Officers responded to a report of gunshots heard in the area of the 500 block of Center Street shortly after 11:30 p.m. Officers had been patrolling that area because of earlier reports of multiple fights as people were leaving a concert on Pacific Avenue.

Officers were able to determine the shooting was at Center and Elm streets, where witnesses heard multiple gunshots. Witnesses also reported a gold Acura leaving north on Cedar Street and a dark-colored sedan speeding away south on Cedar Street, according to police.

Responding Santa Cruz officers found shell casings at the scene.

Police then stopped an Acura about a half-mile north of the shooting in the 700 block of Chestnut Street, where it was found with multiple bullet holes on the driver's side of the car, police said.

A search of the vehicle uncovered a loaded .45-caliber handgun in a passenger's purse, but the firearm didn't match smaller shell casings found at the original shooting scene.

The Acura driver was a 20-year-old man from Salinas. He was with a 27-year-old woman and 30-year-old man, both from Salinas.

Police say the vehicle's occupants were considered victims of the shooting who say they don't know why they were targeted.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Santa Cruz Police at (831) 420-5820.

-Bay City News, image via ShutterStock