OXNARD : 2 Men Shot, 1 Beaten by Gang Members

Oxnard police on Saturday were searching for gang members suspected of shooting two men who police say are members of a rival gang and beating up at least one other in a fracas late Friday night, police said.

Jose Fernandez, 18, sustained 11 pellet wounds in the right side of his body and was in stable condition at St. John’s Regional Medical Center on Saturday afternoon, a nursing supervisor said. A 19-year-old man who police identified as Rudy Perez, but who the hospital said has the last name of Reyes, sustained one pellet wound in the forehead. He was released from St. John’s on Saturday, the nursing supervisor said.

In addition, two 17-year-old boys were injured. One suffered multiple bruises and swelling to his face after being beaten with a lead pipe. The other sustained a cut on the back of his head, police said.

The fight began about 11 p.m. in the 2000 block of North Ventura Road. Fernandez, the 19-year-old and others were attending a party at an apartment, police said. One of the party-goers, a 17-year-old, walked to a nearby store to buy food.

As the youth walked through an alley on his way back to the party, 10 gang members attacked him, beating him unconscious with their fists and pipes, police said. One of the suspected attackers went to the courtyard of the building where the party was being held, shouting profanities and gang slogans.

He fired several shots from a shotgun at the party-goers, injuring Fernandez and the 19-year-old. Some of the party-goers then chased the suspect, and a brawl ensued, police said.

About 15 Oxnard police officers and a Ventura County sheriff’s canine unit responded to calls about the fight, police said. Gang members suspected of causing the fracas fled before police arrived.