Gunman Takes Aim at Freeway Commuters
New info: more than 30 vehicles hit in past month
By JESSICA GREENE
Updated 8:59 AM PST, Wed, May 13, 2009
The California Highway Patrol is on a manhunt for the person using vehicles on a stretch of Bay Area freeway for target practice.
As many as 31 vehicles on Interstate 680 near the Fremont-Sunol border have been riddled with pellets over the past month, leaving the people inside rattled with fear. There were 10 reported such incidents in a week and a half, five of the shootings happened within a five minute span on Saturday.
Tom Loker was driving on 680 north of Fremont Saturday at about 11:45 p.m. when his car was hit.
"All of a sudden we heard a bang." Loker explained, "It sounded like a gun shot or a small explosion and then a millisecond later, the window on the passenger side blew into the car, shattering glass all over the seat and all over my wife, although she was uninjured."
Loker's son was asleep in the back seat of the car when the car was hit. He was unharmed.
The five cars hit Saturday were traveling between Washington and Mission Boulevard on 680. One person suffered minor injuries from the broken glass.
The CHP says they believes the shooter was in a stationary spot off the freeway firing pellets from an air rifle.
Loker is convinced that it was much more than a pellet that came shattered his car window amd sent shockwaves through his family, "If you look at the pictures you'll see ... if that's a pellet, I'll eat somebody's shoes."
Officers say if your car gets hit while driving, pull off to a safe location and call 911.
Investigators speculate that the culprits may be youth, because several dead pigeons were also found in the area, CHP Sgt. Rick Luciano said.
"Are they shooting at pigeons, or are they shooting at cars, or both?" Luciano said. "We'll find out."
First Published: May 12, 2009 6:30 AM PST
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