According to the authorities, a gang-related attack involving the narcotics trade was carried out by two gunmen. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux of Tulare County told reporters, “This was very personal.”
In what the authorities claimed was likely a gang-related murder, two shooters broke into a home in Tulare County in Central California early on Monday and killed six people, including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby.
After receiving a call reporting numerous gunshots, officers were dispatched to a residence in Goshen around 4 a.m. local time, according to Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
NEW: Six people — including a 17-year-old mother and her 6-month-old baby — were killed in a mass shooting this morning in central California. At least two victims were found dead in the street. Police say the family was targeted. https://t.co/Y3rzvLvmHE
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 16, 2023
Although the details of the crime were vague, Sheriff Boudreaux later told The Los Angeles Times that a deputy who responded to the call discovered the baby in her 17-year-old mother’s arms in a ditch outside the residence. Both had suffered head wounds.
According to the sheriff, there was one more victim standing in the doorway and three others, including an older woman, were inside. Except for one man who passed away after being transferred to a hospital, all were dead when they were found.
The sheriff claimed that two women managed to flee the assault by hiding in a neighboring trailer. The victims’ names were revealed by the authorities.
Sheriff Boudreaux told the media at the news conference, “We do not feel that this was a random act of violence.” “We think this was very targeted. This was highly private, and we think there was a message being sent as well.
Sheriff Boudreaux stated that there are at least two male suspects in the shooting and that “gang associations were involved in this event.”
Around 4 a.m. local time on Monday, officers were called to a house in Goshen after a large number of gunshots were heard, according to Sheriff Boudreaux.
Guns, marijuana, and methamphetamine were found on the property last week when a search warrant was carried out, according to Sheriff Boudreaux’s office. He stated to The Los Angeles Times that he thought the assault had anything to do with a narcotics cartel.
The “manner and swiftness” of the killings suggested the individuals were experienced in murder, Sheriff Boudreaux told the newspaper, adding that “this was not your run-of-the-mill, low-end gang member.” He claimed that many of the victims, including the elderly woman who was discovered in a bed inside the house, had been shot in the head.
He said that two more ladies managed to flee and hide in a trailer house, where they later revealed to the police that residents had witnessed the invaders entering the property on security cameras. He declared, “It was too late to do anything.”
In a statement on Monday evening, Eddie Valero, a Tulare County supervisor, said that the attack in Goshen was “everyone’s worst fear.”
Mr. Valero stated that these senseless acts of violence, particularly those committed against infants, kids, and young adults, have no place in our communities.
In recent years, drug trafficking-related arrests have been made by Tulare County authorities on a number of occasions. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office discovered 50 pounds of methamphetamine inside a car in 2020 after conducting a traffic stop.
Following the traffic stop, investigators discovered two active methamphetamine labs inside one home and a third active meth lab inside a different home. According to the sheriff’s office, the inquiry resulted in the recovery of drugs worth more than $1.5 million.
The county’s drug trafficking task force and the Narcotics Enforcement Administration detained four persons in a multistate drug bust last year who were allegedly involved in a plot to deliver methamphetamine to be peddled in Las Vegas.
According to Mr. Valero, “this drug issue has become a serious concern for many communities around the state.” “The county has actively reduced crime and illicit activity with the help of its law enforcement.
Despite these attempts, problems will arise like the one in Goshen. We’ll keep taking proactive steps to provide improved safety and security in our county.
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