A 23-year-old man was injured Tuesday night in the 42nd shooting investigated by Lompoc police officers this year.
Sgt. Vincent Magallon said officers were dispatched shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday to a shooting with a person on the ground in the 500 block of O Street. Officers located the victim on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds.
The injured man was transported to a local hospital and was reported to be in stable condition on Wednesday.
“There is nothing to specifically say it’s gang related as of right now, but based on other circumstances, it tends to look that way,” Magallon said.
There were no signs that the shooter was in a vehicle, but detectives were continuing to develop information about the suspect.
Since Jan. 1, Lompoc police have investigated 42 shootings, not all of which involved injured victims, Magallon said. The number is a 50% increase compared with the same time last year, police said.
Magallon chalked it up to an increase and more availability of illegal firearms.
In the past, disputes would lead to fights with sticks, bats and other weapons, he said.
“We really don’t get that as much anymore. Now, it’s just straight to guns,” Magallon said.
The uptick in shootings, and recent hirings, have allowed the Lompoc police to form a Special Investigation Unit made up of a corporal and two officers.
“Now we’re finally at a point where we can get a special detail going,” Capt. Kevin Martin said.
Rather than designate a gang team, the Special Investigation Unit members would focus on problems related to the city’s top crimes.
“Right now, we have to get some proactive police work going on,” Martin said. “This is their focus.”
The new team’s efforts will center on gang activity that has led to the current spate of violence.
Efforts to boost the agency’s staffing continue with three newcomers set to start the law enforcement academy this month.
As the number of officers on the force rises, Martin said he hopes to restore two other specialty positions — a motorcycle officer focused on traffic and another dealing with issues related to the homeless population. That should take some of the burden off patrol officers.
“The first step is SIU. It’s new to us. We have had a narcotics detail in the past. We’ve had gang details in the past. This is the first time we’ve left it open to be more of a problem-oriented detail,” Martin said.
The community still plays a vital role in helping police solve crimes, so residents need to contact police if they have information about an incident.
“Sometimes that one tip puts us over on a search warrant. So anytime people have information, it really truly helps us,” Martin said.
Anyone with information about the shooting can call the Lompoc Police Department at 805.736.2341 or notify the department via the agency’s mobile application.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.