At about 1:45 pm on Friday, February 19th, Yakima police officers responded to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital when a 16-year-old Yakima male showed up at the hospital and claimed he had been shot in the 500 block of West Nob Hill Boulevard after someone yelled his gang moniker while he was getting into his vehicle. The teen, who suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, drove himself to the hospital. He was treated and released.
Detectives from the Yakima Police Department (YPD) Gang Unit will review video surveillance gathered from near where the shooting occurred.
At about 3:00 pm the same day, YPD officers were again called to Yakima Valley Memorial, this time to investigate the shooting of a 17-year-old male. The 17-year-old, who is a documented Yakima gang member, suffered a gunshot wound to his torso. Following emergency surgery at Memorial, he was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for additional treatment.
Security video showed the 17-year-old was dropped off at the hospital in a silver Mercedes-Benz. After the shooting victim got out of the car, the vehicle fled the area.
Based on information gathered at the hospital, YPD detectives were able to determine the 17-year-old had been shot at a residence in the 100 block of North 18th Avenue.
While serving a search warrant on the residence, YPD detectives located the silver Mercedes-
Benz from the security video along with an AR-15 rifle, multiple handguns – some of which were stolen – hundreds of Fentanyl pills, and cash.
“Based on evidence gathered at the scene, it appears the shooting occurred inside a bedroom,” said YPD Captain Jay Seely.
Several occupants of the house were interviewed by police and released. The investigation is
continuing as detectives obtain more evidence and information about what transpired at
the home.
While YPD police don’t believe the two shootings on Friday are related, they do suspect that the same gang that was involved in the shooting death of Charles Taylor on September 14th, 2020 was involved in the shooting of the 17-year-old on Friday.
Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to contact the YPD at (509) 575-6200 or by calling 9-1-1. Tips can be also be reported to Yakima County Crime Stoppers by phone at
1-800-248-9980, on the organization’s website at www.crimestoppersyakco.org, or through the “P3 Tips” app at http://p3intel.com/mobileapp.htm that can be downloaded for free.