By Mike Hazlip—
A shooting involving a motorcycle gang member that took place Saturday morning near Madison and San Juan avenues is being investigated as gang violence, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.
Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi said a 36-year-old male, who is a confirmed member of the Vagos motorcycle gang, was likely shot by a rival gang. The shooting occurred at Madison Avenue and Lincoln Oaks Drive just before 9:30 a.m. on the morning of July 8.
The man called 911 after being shot and was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, but has not been cooperative in answering questions from law enforcement. Gandhi said the man had “a couple of wounds,” but was wearing a bulletproof vest — which he said was an indication that “he was expecting trouble of some sort.”
Another man, described as the injured biker’s friend, showed up at the scene and was also arrested, the sergeant said. Both men are Sacramento-area residents.
“It’s happening here in a very quiet neighborhood,” Gandhi said, noting he was taking his family out for a pancake breakfast when the call came in about the shooting. “These guys are out here rolling around with guns and don’t care about anything behind them. We’re in a neighborhood filled with families, kids — I mean, this is a Saturday morning,”
Gandhi called out state legislators for trying to repeal gang laws, saying the violence is a problem in many neighborhoods, including Citrus Heights.
“Now your California legislature is repealing any and all gang laws, and they want to attribute this to a race thing,” Gandhi said. “It’s not a Black gang problem, it is not a Hispanic gang problem, or a White gang problem. This is a gang problem that’s happening here in Sacramento, here in Citrus Heights, here in California.”
“We can lock these guys up all day long — it’s up to the legislature to keep them there.”