Task Force Formed to Help Solve Shootings

Police announced Tuesday that detectives have stepped up efforts to solve recent shootings at two local auto accessories stores, where gunmen in separate incidents opened fire on employees and customers, killing a total of three people and leaving five more seriously wounded.

After sifting through dozens of unsuccessful leads, investigators have formed a 12-member task force in the hopes of unearthing a clear motive and possible suspects in this summer’s killings at ZOOMi Racing Automotive and Robotek Motorsports.

Detectives believe that the strong similarities between the two shootings--including the types of businesses where they occurred--indicate that there might be a link.

But police also acknowledged that interviews with victims and witnesses have provided them with few useful clues and that detectives desperately need more information.

In each case, witnesses described the gunman as Asian and in his early 20s. And in each case, the gunman entered the store during the afternoon and, without saying a word, opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun. Nothing was stolen during either shooting.