Thousand Oaks Faces Reality of Gangs : Violence: In wake of a weekend shootout that left one dead and three wounded, officials struggle to restore the image of a safe city.

As an investigation into one of Ventura County’s bloodiest gang brawls continued, Thousand Oaks Mayor Judy Lazar on Monday trudged along the street where a deadly weekend shootout occurred, reassuring residents that the city will fight back against violence.

“We want to let you know we will keep putting as much pressure on these gangs as possible,” Lazar told neighbors on Fordham Avenue as sheriff’s deputies handed out flyers on Neighborhood Watch programs. “The city has a zero-tolerance policy against gangs.”

The message comforted a few residents who had been startled by a rapid exchange of shots about midnight Saturday, when rival gang members--keyed up after a brief altercation--pulled out their handguns during a back-yard birthday party.

The shootout killed Miguel Flores, 18, of Camarillo and wounded three other teen-agers. One--Celena Mendoza, 19, of Thousand Oaks--was listed in critical but stable condition Monday in the intensive care unit at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

A 16-year-old Thousand Oaks boy who had been arrested on suspicion of murder was released to his parents Monday, although he remains a suspect, Lt. Kathy Kemp said.

Residents take pride in the fact that the FBI annually ranks Thousand Oaks as one of the nation’s safest cities. But many say the shootout has forced them to consider the possibility of crime in their neighborhoods.

“It was just a complete shock to know that there is gang-related madness here,” said Crishon Nagel, who moved to Fordham Avenue five years ago. “It was so surreal.”

With three gangs and about 50 hard-core members, Thousand Oaks’ teen-age crime problem would seem less severe than other cities. Oxnard police, for example, track about 30 gangs in that city and have identified about 1,800 members, said department spokesman David Keith.

But the weekend shootout, which involved a gang from Camarillo, put Thousand Oaks among the Ventura County areas with the bloodiest gang violence.

“I can’t remember a single incident in recent years as serious as the one in Thousand Oaks,” Keith said.

City leaders urged residents to organize Neighborhood Watch groups, throw block parties to discuss crime prevention tactics and keep a closer eye on children who might be drawn to gangs.

“We shouldn’t stick our head in the sand,” Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said. “We should not try to hide behind the label that we’re one of the safest cities in America with a population of over 100,000.”

Councilman Frank Schillo added: “This incident shows that this kind of violence can happen anywhere.”

The shooting brought back painful memories for Chuck Jordan, whose 20-year-old daughter was gunned down in Thousand Oaks in 1991 in a gang-related drive-by shooting. Now an Oxnard resident, Jordan had vowed to make sure that his daughter’s death was the last gang killing in Thousand Oaks.

“Now my vow is useless,” Jordan said. “I’m absolutely appalled. Our city fathers have to wake up and quit bragging about how safe Thousand Oaks is, because we’re all in this together in Ventura County, and the crime wave is here already. Now someone else has lost a child, and I’m devastated for them.”