OXNARD : Bullet Takes Strange Path; Motorist OK

An Oxnard motorist escaped a fatal gunshot wound when a bullet fired by a suspected gang member struck him in the side and traveled halfway up his back before coming to a rest just below the skin, Oxnard police said Wednesday.

Romero Pardo, 19, was struck in the right side of his ribs about 7 p.m. Tuesday while driving west on Bard Road between Saviers Road and A Street, Officer Randy Gens said. He was treated and released from St. John’s Regional Medical Center about two hours later.

The bullet, fired by one of three teen-agers walking west on Bard, traveled up Pardo’s right side and around to his back before stopping just under his shoulder, authorities said. Gens said he had ducked just before the gunman fired.

The bullet, a 9-millimeter Winchester used by police service pistols, had come to a rest “just below the skin, where the doctor just removed it,” Gens said.

He said the suspects, none of whom were identified, fled through the back yard of a residence and then through E.O. Green Elementary School before disappearing. Gens said he suspects they are involved with gangs.

Amazed at the bullet’s path, Cmdr. Jaimie Skeeters said, “If it was you or I, we’d still be lying there, probably.”