A man was shot near Turlock's Wakefield Elementary School Tuesday afternoon, putting the school on temporary lockdown as police searched for a fleeing suspect.
According to Turlock Police Sgt. Steven Webb, the incident occurred at approximately 4:13 p.m., when persons in a late 1990s or early 2000s Honda started to argue with three other individuals near the intersection of South Avenue and Spruce Street – just across the street from Wakefield Elementary School.
That argument apparently escalated and shots were fired in the middle of the street at the three men not in the Honda. At least one of the men was hit.
Turlock police found the injured man at an area residence, where he apparently ran after being shot. He is suffering from non-life threatening wounds, police said, and has been transported to a local hospital. No further information is currently available about his condition.
The other two individuals apparently fled, according to Webb. It is unknown if they were shot.
The suspect fled the area as well, Turlock Police Lt. Ron Reid said. He remains at large.
Wakefield Elementary School was locked down as a precautionary measure due to its proximity to the shooting, Reid said. Turlock police do not believe the suspect was headed toward Wakefield Elementary School at any time.
Turlock police officers lifted the lockdown approximately 20 minutes later, and helped children to their parents' cars.
It remains undetermined what the argument was about, and why the shooting occurred.
“We're still investigating,” Reid said. “We don't know what might have caused it.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Turlock Police Det. Brandon Bertram at 209-668-5550 ext. 6623.
TurlockCityNews.com will provide updates as they become available.
This article was updated at 7:00 p.m. to include additional information about circumstances of the shooting, the status of the injured man, and contact info of the detective handling the case.
Wow, Turlock is really turning into quite the (*edited by tcn) hole. Can the do-gooders please stop feeding these people now and giving them drug money when they panhandle in front of the local businesses?
Daisy Bell mobile home park is pulling plants and moving them to one area to conserve water. I feel this is a great thing for them to react to our water conservation without being asked to do so. We live in the best mobile home park in Turlock, owners Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, and their grown children. Carolyn and Scott who now run the park provide a wonderful place to live and provide a 5 star park for just over $300 rent, the lowest in our area. The residents here are mostly limited income and they keep the price down so all can afford to live in a wonderful park. They deserve credit for their water conservation efforts and being the best park to live in period.