UPDATE: Police say vehicle was targeted in deadly shooting
An expectant mother was gunned down in front of her family late Thursday night in north Visalia.
Sgt. Mark Feller said the 27-year-old woman, 35 weeks pregnant, was driving with four others in a vehicle near Ben Maddox Way and Houston Avenue when someone in a vehicle pulled up to the car and opened fire. Witnesses in a nearby drive-through said they heard six gunshots.
When the gunfire quieted, two people had been shot. The driver, Andrew Aguirre, 23, thought quickly and rushed the victims to Kaweah Delta Medical Center. He had been shot in the leg.
Kaweah Delta staff called police, who were already on their way to the area of Houston and Ben Maddox. Glass and ash from flares used to control traffic still litter the street. Witnesses said the intersection was blocked while detectives combed the area for bullet casings.
Aguirre's injuries were not life threatening. The pregnant woman, Vanessa Oviedo, Aguirre's girlfriend, was shot in the head. Doctors hurried to deliver the baby through an emergency C-section. The mother died and doctors saved the baby, a boy, who is in good condition, Feller said. Oviedo was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
An 11-month-old was also in the vehicle, but was not injured. Oviedo was in the middle of planning her daughter's 1-year birthday.
Feller said the shooting does have clear indications that it was gang-related.
"This wasn't random. The suspect's vehicle pulled up next to victim's car to give the passenger a clear shot," Feller said. "We believe this vehicle was targeted."
Mayor Steve Nelsen called the shooting a "shame" and urged anyone with information to come forward.
"It's a tragic and shocking event, to say the least. Any time there's a loss of life, I question why," he said.
He said these types of situations are rare in Visalia and shocks the core values here in the city.
"We need to identify who did this and we need to apprehend them and bring them to the full extent of justice," Nelsen said.
Violent Crimes Unit detectives are scouring the area for clues and hoping witnesses can lead to an arrest in the deadly shooting. Police have not said what may have led to the shooting or if it was gang-related. The case is being headed by Detective Brian Somavia and anyone with information is urged to call him at 713-4727.
A deadly intersection
The deadly shooting Thursday night comes more than 20 years after the shooting of Kelly Scott, a 35-year-old optician and father of two.
Scott was struck by a stray bullet from a shootout between two rival street gangs on the corner of Ben Maddox and Houston.
The man’s death prompted outrage. Hundreds marched on City Hall wearing white ribbons promoting peace and demanding police take more action. The HEART afterschool program stemmed from the community action.
In the last 20 years, Visalia police and Tulare County sheriff’s deputies have worked together with the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office to put hundreds of gang members away. They’ve focused on mass arrests, such as Operation Street Sweeper and Red Sol.
Families of gang-violence victims, residents and police all say the fight against gangs is still on-going, but people have found a way to cope with the threat of gang violence around them without letting fear ruin their lives.
“I walk these streets every day. You see things and hear things, but if I worried every time I stepped outside, I wouldn’t ever step outside,” said Carlos Viccareal, who lives near the Food Maxx shopping center. “I trust police will handle this. I put my faith in them and God.”
Viccareal added that he was saddened by the news, but glad that the nearby La Sierra Military Academy wasn't impacted. Aguirre is a former La Sierra student.
"I see these students walk up and down these streets," he said. "They're the ones I worry about."
It is rare for innocent bystanders to get caught up in gang violence, Visalia police officers said, but in cases such as the Scott shooting and the 1999 slaying of 13-year-old Nancy Saechao, the gang members don't think about their surroundings before they open fire on rivals.
"They get so caught up that they could care less about who is around them or who might get hit," Lt. Ed Lynn said after the Scott shooting.