Shooting That Killed Infant May Have Been Retaliation Attempt

A shooting that killed an infant in East Palo Alto early Sunday morning may have been a mistaken act of retaliation for a gang-related beating that occurred in Redwood City last week, police said Monday.

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with the killing, and have a second teen in custody on a weapons charge.

The infant, a 3-month-old boy, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head when two people opened fire on the car he was in with his family as they left a baby shower on Wisteria Drive around 1 a.m., according to police.

His mother and father, both 22, were injured but survived and a 3-year-old child who was also in the car was unhurt.

At a noon news conference today, acting police Capt. Jeff Liu said investigators believe the teen they have arrested for the killing was beaten up by Sureno gang members during a confrontation in Redwood City on May 31.

Early Sunday morning, Liu said, investigators believe the teen and a second person spotted the victims in East Palo Alto and mistook them for the attackers.

"Our investigation tells us that the suspect that we've arrested saw two individuals on Wisteria he believed to have participated in the crime in Redwood City," Liu said.

He said police believe the teen and his cohort armed themselves and opened fire on their car.

Liu said the mother and father were not involved in the beating, and that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

The infant was taken to Stanford Hospital after the shooting, where he died at 2:15 a.m.

The killing prompted intense collaboration between East Palo Alto police and other agencies, including Palo Alto and Menlo Park police and the San Mateo County gang task force, Police Chief Ron Davis said.

A special team was formed to investigate the case, and its members began to focus on all known gang members in the area where the shooting happened.

At about 1 p.m. Sunday, police went to a home on Larkspur Drive, the next street over from Wisteria Drive, where they recovered three handguns and took two teens, ages 16 and 17, into custody on weapons charges, Liu said.

Lui said that while they were questioning the teens, one made statements implicating himself in the shooting and was arrested in connection with that case.

The teen, whose name has not been released, is being held at Juvenile Hall. Davis said he is not making a recommendation to the district attorney's office on whether to charge him as an adult.

A $25,000 reward is still being offered in the case.

-- Bay City News Service