Shots Fired at Students Near Ventura High

VENTURA —  A gunman fired five shots toward a group of students in front of Ventura High School on Thursday, the third incident of apparent gang violence in three days in the city.

No one was hurt in the 7:50 a.m. shooting, which sent the students scurrying for cover.

Although police investigators would not say whether the shooting was gang-related, several students said they heard someone call out gang slogans before the shots were fired.

The shooting occurred in an alley south of Main Street after a group of four or five students pursued a young man who reportedly flashed gang signs while driving past in a light-colored sedan.

The man parked in an alley across the street from the high school. When the youths caught up to him, he pulled out a gun and fired, authorities said. Officers recovered five shell casings.

Witnesses said the shots were fired from a light-gray Oldsmobile Cutlass. Officers stopped a car matching that description on the Ventura Freeway a few minutes after the shooting, but no one was arrested.

“It was very fortunate that no one got hurt,” said Ventura Police Lt. Carl Handy.

School officials said it was unclear whether the shots were fired at the Ventura High students or just in their direction.

Although the shooting occurred off high school grounds, officials responded by beefing up security and prohibiting access to a popular mini-mart across the street from the campus until further notice.

In addition, officials said the group of students probably would face disciplinary action for pursuing the vehicle.

But overall, school officials were relieved that no one was injured.

“The incident did not carry over onto the campus,” Supt. Joseph Spirito said. “Our kids are safe and they were unaffected. I don’t think 95% of them even knew what was going on.”

It was the third time in as many days that the city has experienced apparent gang violence.

And although officials said the three incidents are not related, tension among gang members in the city has ratcheted up a notch.

The spate of violence began Tuesday when 18-year-old Fabian Arturo Flores was shot several times while talking to a friend on the 400 block of West Ramona. Flores was still in critical condition Thursday.

Investigators in Oxnard and Ventura are looking into the possibility that Flores was shot in retaliation for a homicide that occurred the day before in Oxnard.

In that incident, 17-year-old Genaro Jimenez, believed to be an Oxnard gang member, was stabbed to death during a fight at the intersection of Driskill Street and Ferrara Way. Investigators believe that Jimenez may have been killed by members of a Ventura gang.

No arrests have been made in either Jimenez’s stabbing or the Flores shooting.

On Wednesday, two brothers were stabbed on the 100 block of Dakota Drive when they attempted to come to the aid of a friend.

Gabriel Ballard, 20, was listed in serious condition Thursday with stab wounds to his chest. Jesse Ballard, 22, suffered a wound to his left arm.

Police arrested 23-year-old Isaias Tejeda and a 17-year-old shortly after the assault. Both were being held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and are believed to be members of a west-side gang.

After Thursday’s incident, nervous parents flooded the high school’s switchboard with calls.

Principal Larry Emrich said that he and his staff tried to make it clear that the shooting did not take place on campus and that it only involved a handful of students.

“We tell them that the safety of their kids is our utmost concern,” Emrich said. “My personal feeling is that school is the safest place to be.”