Flowers and candles stand where Alberto Alcala fell. Avenal police say gang members ended his life, and stabbed two of his friends at the intersection of Stanislaus and A Streets.
"Alberto Alcala had been shot multiple times."
Alcala died on the way to the hospital. His friends will likely survive. Chief Jack Amoroso says they were attacked by Nortenos, who were partying at this home across the street. "These people came into the community to commit crime. Partied here and then committed a spontaneous crime without provocation from anyone in this community."
Neighbors say that party was out of control. They say dozens of people were at the home, and some of them were outside around 2:00 a.m. yelling gang slurs.
Eloisa Valle heard everything. She says the gun shots scared her because her kids weren't home at the time.
"It's really sad when you see our youth go down."
Mayor Harlin Casida stopped by the scene Monday afternoon. He says the city has gang issues, but the streets have been calm for a while.
"We've had no major crime here in over eight months and to have this happen here with out-of-towners. It's very disheartening."
Family members were also at the scene, but they didn't want to be on camera. They say Alcala was a bright 20-year-old who liked working on cars. They say he was just walking to a friends house when he was attacked.
"It's a tragedy because their son walked down the wrong street. Their brother walked down the wrong street and he's no longer with us."
Investigators say they have significant leads but haven't made any arrests. They are looking for at least two men who could be connected with the Huron Parkside Nortenos. If you have any information, you should call Avenal police.
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook