Two people were arrested and two UC Santa Barbara students suffered gunshot wounds in Isla Vista on Monday evening in what apparently was a drug-related altercation.
The violence broke out shortly after 7 p.m. in a second-floor apartment in the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde Road, on the eastern edge of Isla Vista near the UCSB campus.
A total of four people were injured in the incident, which initially was reported as a domestic-disturbance call, said Kelly Hoover, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
The fight ensued after Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez, 19, of Goleta, and James Joshua Taylor, 22, of Lompoc, went to the apartment of two male UCSB students, Hoover said, adding that Gutierrez was known to the students.
“While the two subjects were inside the residence, an altercation occurred,” she said. “As a result of the fight, two of the residents sustained … gunshot wounds. A handgun was found at the scene.”
One student was shot in the abdomen and the other was shot in the chest, Hoover said.
Both students, whose names were not released, were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and were expected to recover.
Taylor, who also was injured, was subdued by other residents and taken into custody by law enforcement, Hoover said.
She said Gutierrez fled in a white sedan through the UCSB campus, but he later turned up at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital claiming he had been injured in a vehicle accident.
Taylor and Gutierrez then were both taken to Santa Barbara Cottage, where they were placed under arrest, Hoover said.
She said Taylor faces charges of attempted murder, robbery, discharge of a firearm in the commission of a felony causing great bodily injury, and participation in a criminal street gang.
Gutierrez faces charges of attempted murder, robbery, possession of a stolen firearm, participating in a criminal street gang, and discharge of a firearm in the commission of a felony causing great bodily injury, Hoover said.
Both will be booked into County Jail once they are released from the hospital, she added.
Undersheriff Barney Melekian told Noozhawk on Monday night that the incident was believed to be drug-related, but he did not elaborate.
During the incident, Isla Vista residents were advised to stay indoors, and UCSB dormitories were briefly on lock-down before the order was lifted around 9:10 p.m.
“The shelter in place and lock-down has been lifted,” UCSB’s alert stated. “The areas of Isla Vista and campus have been cleared. There is currently a person of interest detained with law enforcement.
“If there is anyone with information on this incident, you are encouraged to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Anonymous Tip-Line at 805.681.4171.
Monday’s shooting spree came almost exactly a year after the Isla Vista massacre that left the densely populated community reeling.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on May 23, 2014, Elliot Rodger went on a rampage just as the Friday night party scene was getting going. The 22-year-old college dropout shot 10 people, three fatally, and ran over seven pedestrians and bicyclists as he raced his car around Isla Vista.
Chased by sheriff’s deputies, Rodger shot himself in the head and crashed his BMW sedan in the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Afterward, when investigators went to Rodger’s nearby apartment in the 6500 block of Seville Road, they discovered that he had brutally stabbed to death his two roommates and one of their friends.
The Isla Vista and UCSB communities are preparing to mark the one-year anniversary with a number of somber commemorations, including the dedication of a People’s Park memorial created to honor Rodger’s six victims, all UCSB students: George Chen, Katie Cooper, Chen Yuan “James” Hong, Christopher Ross Michael-Martinez, Weihan “David” Wang and Veronika Weiss.
Noozhawk News Editor Giana Magnoli contributed to this report.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
