Group of Youths Stabs 2 Brothers in Argument

Two Oxnard brothers were recovering Monday after being stabbed repeatedly in an incident that neighbors and witnesses say involved 10 to 15 gang members.

Oracio Morales, 30, and his brother, Pablo, 19, were stabbed Sunday night during a scuffle in the 1900 block of Colonia Road, police said.

A hospital spokeswoman said Oracio Morales was in fair condition Monday in the intensive care unit at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Pablo Morales was released Monday from the Ventura County Medical Center, a spokeswoman there said.

Oxnard police responded to the report of a stabbing at 7:40 p.m., Sgt. Fred Berry said. Oracio Morales was apparently in a fight with several youths when his younger brother tried to help him, Berry said. Ten to 15 other neighborhood youths then joined the fight, he said.

Police have not ascertained who stabbed the brothers, he said. Oracio Morales suffered wounds to the chest and Pablo Morales suffered wounds to the lower torso, Berry said.

No arrests were made and the investigation is continuing, Berry said.

Berry declined to confirm or deny statements from neighbors at the Holiday Manor Apartments, where the stabbing took place. The neighbors said members of a local gang known as the Colonia Chiques were involved.

Isabel Infante, manager of the apartments, said several of the gang members had tried a few days earlier to take a bicycle away from Oracio Morales’ son. The gang members chased the boy to his apartment, where Oracio Morales argued with the youths, she said.

Infante said the Morales brothers are fieldworkers who recently arrived from Mexico and were not affiliated with any gangs. “They’re just nice, decent people,” she said.

Infante said the gang, which usually consists of eight or nine youths, has been known to terrorize the mostly working-class Latinos who live in the apartment complex.

She said residents have called police to complain about gang-related incidents such as fights, drug sales and vandalism to cars and windows. “It happens almost every day,” she said.

Infante said the brothers were drinking beer on the steps outside their apartment Sunday when they were confronted by the gang members. However, she and several neighbors said they don’t know what led to the stabbing.

A two-foot-wide stain of dried blood remained Monday on the steps outside the Morales apartment.

Family members declined to comment.

Berry declined to discuss whether gangs are a problem in that neighborhood.