STOCKTON, California — The latest wave in violence in Stockton took another ominous turn Saturday afternoon when a nine-year-old boy was shot and life flighted to UC Davis Medical Center.
Two other adult men were also hurt in the shooting that happened just past 1 p.m. at Searchlight Avenue and Hazelton Avenue in Southeast Stockton.
A day later, Stockton Police Department arrested 21-year-old Jose Antonio Trujillo-Pacheco and 23-year-old Rodolfo Vital in connection to the shooting.
Both face attempted homicide and weapon charges.
Stockton police investigators don't believe what happened on Searchlight Avenue was random, but, the motive is still not known.
In the past week, nine people have been shot and two have been killed.
"It breaks my heart anytime we have a shooting on any level," said Leon Scoggins, community activist and pastor at Stockton's Life City Church.
Scoggins said more direct involvement by community members is needed right now.
"Parents have an obligation to make sure that we stay in contact with our young people. Teachers, city officials, people in the church, we all have a small part to play that is resulting in a big problem," Scoggins said.
Last Thursday, Stockton police, community leaders and support groups descended upon an apartment complex at Marsh and Filbert Streets. It was the same location where a deadly, random home invasion happened two days earlier, just three blocks away from Saturday's shooting.
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"It's good to come together for photo ops, to come together to give out food, but it's the work that we do when no one is looking," Scoggins added.
Toni McNeil, activist with Faith in the Valley, said it is up to the community to ensure the shooters and victims alike are getting access to resources they need.
"The people that are in pain are the people that are being shot and the people that are pulling the trigger," McNeil said.
She also said that it's time for the older generation to step aside and have younger people help.
"Politics on the street are not the same today as they were back in the day. We need to have individuals that are closer to the pain that we're wanting to invest in," McNeil said.
She said people who really know what is happening on the streets should be hired to connect with the people who are driving the violence.
As of Monday night, Stockton has sixteen homicides compared to seven this time last year.
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