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Uploaded: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 8:17 PM

Gun battle erupts in East Palo Alto
Shootout wounds two persons, one critically

by Sue Dremann
Palo Alto Online Staff

Posted by anon, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 12, 2009 at 9:56 pm

Gun battles, 20 year olds... Disgusting. I wish I had an answer to end this senseless violence and total disrespect for the value of human life. I hope that someone has the answer.

Posted by Somewhat Concerned Citizen, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Nov 12, 2009 at 10:50 pm

A few boxes of .223, an AR-15, and immunity.

Of course I JEST (emphasis on the jest, I don't want to put across any "wrong" ideas), but alas, we all know something *should* be done. Perhaps the factors that contributed to shootings like this should be analyzed and acted upon, although it's unlikely that this case will be thought over beyond sending the perpetrators to prison. As the article is pretty brief, we do not know the exact circumstances of the crime, so maybe this isn't the best place/ situation to talk about what should be done.

And please, let this not turn into a knock-down drag-out gun debate. It is highly unlikely these guns were acquired legally, so consider that before arguing on the matter; and consider that there is still substantial gun crime in countries that have complete/near complete gun bans, like Jamaica or the United Kingdom.

Finally, if there is an argument, keep it civil! (This means refrain from ad hominem.) Debates on Palo Alto Online have somewhat of a tendency to deteriorate quickly, and we should behave like adults, or at least what adults are supposed to behave like.

-JC

Posted by cindy, a member of the Gunn High School community, on Nov 12, 2009 at 11:10 pm

If all the white kids from across the highway would quit going to EPA to buy their drugs, then the drug dealers move elsewhere.

Posted by lucky, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2009 at 2:33 am

wow, it is amzaing no innocent people was hurt in that mele, those were alot of shots fired

Posted by qq, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2009 at 3:22 am

Around 1AM EPA also had an armed car jacking. Two black males with a handgun. PAPD got a BOL on it.

Posted by qq, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2009 at 3:30 am

The Merc has some additional details.

Web Link

Best quote from the article:

"Police found shell casings from 7.62 mm rounds, indicating the first gunman used a high-powered assault rifle, he added."

Yes, everything that shoots 7.62mm is an assault rifle. lolz

Web Link

Big 5 has these 7.62 mm "assault rifles" on sale for $99.

qq

Posted by Send in the Troops, a resident of another community, on Nov 13, 2009 at 8:17 am

Send in the troops to establish law and order. Clear out the bad guys. Make the community safe for peaceable citizens.

Posted by tim, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 13, 2009 at 8:44 am

let's see, they sell guns and people get shot. do you think there's a connection?

Posted by Bill, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Nov 13, 2009 at 2:59 pm

The police who work in East PA must be among the bravest officers in the area. Like Officer May they know, when they order someone to drop their weapon, that person will often shoot at them instead. This gives the bad guy the first shot which can be fatal. Not a fun place to work as a peace offier.

Posted by Anony, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Nov 14, 2009 at 2:47 am

QQ, I'm going to go on a limb and say that you're not very informed about guns. And uninformed is a huge euphemism, trust me.

First off, "high-powered" is a complete misnomer. If you've ever gone hunting, or even target-shooting (yes, vegetarians go shootin' too), you'll know right off the bat that more likely than not, gramp's old hunting rifle is far more powerful than any "assault weapon" could be.

In addition, the rifle you linked...huge facepalm there mate! First off- you have to have a clean background. Second of all, it's about $140 out the door, with DROS and tax (DROS is a record of sale for guns), so it's not *terribly cheap*. Lastly, it's a BOLT-ACTION rifle that holds FIVE rounds. That being said, it is probably not a "weapon of choice" for criminals. Also, if he wanted to hear at all for the rest of his life, he wouldn't use it. I'm going to need a little trust from you here- that rifle is LOUD. Of course there's always hearing protection, but still...

Uh, and semi-auto 7.62's are pretty expensive, not going to lie.

(At least the one's deemed "Assault rifles", which are generally 7.62x39 or x51)

*If* indeed you were making a *joke* about 7.62mm rifles all being assault rifles... props to you. At least you know a little about guns.

There's a lot of literature on gun control, and I implore you read both sides of it before implying that Big 5's keeps selling guns to criminals, and that this is the main source of crime. qq, this is somewhat directed to you, and a lot to tim.

I don't think I covered everything, but I'll see what you have to say tomorrow, since you seem to be a pretty frequent poster, qq.

Posted by ..., a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 14, 2009 at 1:07 pm

it wasnt a gun battle, they were shot at.

Posted by 2pAc, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Nov 15, 2009 at 10:48 am

They were shot at while sitting in their car, which was parked in the residents driveway. They were ambushed like deer during the hunting season.

Posted by Former EPA resident, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 16, 2009 at 10:47 am

I think the title of this article is misleading and ridiculous when you know the facts. There was no battle, no "shootout" and someone's life hangs in the balance. Palo Alto Online should be more responsible when reporting.

Posted by EPARES, a resident of East Palo Alto, on Nov 17, 2009 at 5:46 pm

Since the newsmedia could not get it correct. At around 6pm a car was traveling east bound on the 2100 block of lincoln. When the vihicle open fire on the two subjects in the car they continue to drive east bound on lincoln st and made a U-turn on Bell st. Now driving west bound on lincoln the subject open fire on the two people again. This all took around 1 to two minuts.With shot spotters in EPA and it only takes the PD about 4seconds to know where it had taken place. When an officer was making his way from east bayshore to lincoln. The officer past the subject that had commited the crime. The only reason the police did not see these people was because they where not speeding but just letf the crime scen in a very calm manner..... The palce that this happend is known as a drug house. The residents there conviniently double park with no considerance of other traffic. There is always people out there smoking drugs and all this happens in broad day light.

Posted by interested, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Jan 17, 2010 at 11:25 pm

what happend to the guy in critical condition??