Merced, CA- A Family is frightened for their lives after a suspect attempted to rob and shoot at them in a random attack.
On June 16, 2024, at around 11:30 p.m., a family from Merced was loading tables into the back of their truck. During that time, the family’s father noticed a man walking on the sidewalk near their home. As the man walked on the sidewalk, he said, “Don’t f*cken look at my face.” The father of the family did not speak English, and a family friend who did was standing behind the father and said in Spanish, “I think he’s on drugs; just don’t look at him.” Seconds later, the man ran onto their property towards the father with a gun in hand and said, “Give me everything you have.”
The moment the suspect spoke, a scuffle broke out for the gun.
During the scuffle, the suspect attempted to shoot the father, but the gun jammed when the father’s skin somehow became lodged in part of the gun.
The suspect was pushed away in the scuffle shortly after attempting to shoot the father, allowing the father to retrieve towards the door of the home just as his wife was coming outside due to the commotion.
The suspect fired multiple rounds as everyone entered the house. Once inside, the victims took cover after their window was shot at twice.
Moments later, while the victims remained on the floor in their home, they all heard, “Help!” which was coming outside.
After the police arrived, the family found out that their neighbor had been carjacked when they returned home just moments after the shooting.
The vehicle was discovered abandoned the following day in Winton.
The suspect was a light-skinned male with facial tattoos, possibly in his early 20s, and had a slim build.
*Incident took place near Reyes Elementary School
