SANTA CRUZ—A man was shot multiple times early Saturday morning on the west side of Santa Cruz.
The victim was reportedly walking on the 100 block of West Cliff Drive at 2:34 a.m. when he was confronted by another person, said Joyce Blaschke, Community Relations Specialist with the Santa Cruz Police Department. He was shot in a subsequent gunfight, Blaschke said.
SCPD arrived at the scene within minutes and was supported moments later by Santa Cruz Fire and American Medical Response paramedics. They found the 26-year-old man on the sidewalk suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim was taken to a San Jose trauma center and is in stable condition, Blaschke said.
SCPD, with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, closed off the area and started a search for the suspect while gathering evidence. A crew from Santa Cruz Public Works was called in to barricade that section of West Cliff Drive.
That section of West Cliff, a link between the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, the Beach Boardwalk, the popular Dream Inn and the scenic West Cliff Drive pedestrian/bicycle path, is heavily traveled by locals and scads of tourists year-round. Indeed, on Saturday morning, as sunlight filtered over nearby Cowell’s Beach and surroundings, throngs of tourists and locals, many toting surfboards, pushing strollers and riding bikes, passed by the crime scene unaware of the drama that had unfolded hours before.
No suspect has been located or identified and no description has been provided by SCPD. The motive for the shooting, and whether or not the suspect and victim knew each other, is still unknown, Blaschke said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call SCPD Investigations 420-5820.
