"2 dead, 5 wounded in Calif. shooting at taco shop" Associated Press, August 06, 2013
SALINAS, Calif. — A 21-year-old man was arrested Monday on suspicion of opening fire at a Salinas taco shop during a pre-dawn gang brawl, killing three people and injuring four others in the city that has had 10 killings in 12 days.
Giovanni Pacheco was taken into custody hours after the shooting and booked into Monterey County Jail on three counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder, Salinas police said. The wounded victims are expected to survive.
The 1:30 a.m. shooting happened after a fight inside Taco’s Choice restaurant spilled outside, police said. It was the latest in a spate of recent violence.
Arriving officers found a 22-year-old man dead from gunshot wounds. A 28-year-old man who also was shot several times was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 25-year-old man died from wounds after he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, said Commander Sheldon Bryan.
Commander Dave Shaw said the shooting occurred after two groups in the restaurant started brawling.
The conflict moved into a parking lot, where it grew into ‘‘a pretty decent-sized fight’’ before someone pulled a handgun and began firing into the crowd, Shaw said.
Salinas, a farming town in Central California, has seen an uptick in violent crime in recent weeks, Shaw said. There have been 14 killings so far this year, including 10 in the past 12 days. Last year, there were 22.
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