Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials said Tuesday that two shootings in Newhall are thought to be connected to gang activity, although it’s not clear if the two incidents are directly related.
Just over a half-hour after a person was killed in a shooting Monday night near the intersection of Newhall Avenue and Lyons Avenue, a second shooting was reported just a few blocks away on Walnut Street in Newhall, according to station officials.
In the first shooting, a man was struck in the chest by gunfire around 7:35 p.m. Monday near the 22900 block of Lyons Avenue.
Lt. Mike Modica of LASD’s Homicide Bureau said Tuesday by phone that there was one victim in the first shooting and detectives believe there was a single shooter.
“It does appear to be gang-related,” Modica said.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, he added, but detectives have what he referred to as “workable information,” and the shooting is part of an active investigation.
Photos from the scene of the murder indicate that deputies cordoned off an area surrounding Valencia Liquor at 22925 Lyons Ave.
Paramedics with the Fire Department were called to the scene at 7:38 p.m. and asked to stand by when they arrived three minutes later, according to Geovanni Sanchez of the L.A. County Fire Department.
Sheriff’s officials confirmed the victim, whose identity has not yet been released pending the notification of his next of kin, was declared dead at the scene.
The second shooting, which did not involve anyone being struck by gunfire, had similar circumstances to a noninjury shooting that happened at the same intersection June 11, Deputy Robert Jensen, public information officer for the SCV Sheriff’s Station, said in a phone conversation Tuesday.
In both incidents, people reported hearing gunfire and seeing teens flee the scene. Deputies recovered shell casings after both incidents.
“It is unclear whether they are connected,” Jensen wrote in an email Tuesday morning, referring to the first shooting of Monday evening. The second incident is being handled by the station’s Juvenile and Gangs Team, or JAG.
Jensen said the information available remains preliminary, pending the outcome of the dual investigations.
“Upon arrival, deputies discovered seven 40mm spent casings near the scene,” Jensen wrote in an email Tuesday regarding the incident on Walnut Street. “A shattered window at the location showed evidence of bullet impacts, though no injuries were reported. There is currently no information available regarding the suspects involved. Santa Clarita Station JAG Detectives were notified of the incident, and an investigation is underway.”
The station’s detectives in charge of gang activity have been lamenting an ongoing conflict between local gangs in response to a double murder that took place in March 2023.
Station officials with the JAG Team did not respond Tuesday to questions regarding whether this latest shooting is connected.
This is a developing story and additional information will be added as it becomes available.
