The victim of a Thursday night shooting on Long Street had gone to a rival gang's party to confront them, an investigator said Friday.
Enrique Rodrigo-Romero, 19, suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh and was taken by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. He was listed in stable condition Friday.
According to Carson City Sheriff's Detective Dena Lacy, Rodrigo-Romero and some other friends had crashed a party at 1630 E. Long St., Apt. 11, to confront members of an opposing gang.
"This wasn't a drive-by," said Lacy. "They go to confront these guys, get into a huge fight, and then shots started being fired and the victim got hit."
Mike Moyer, a resident of the complex, said he heard the gunshots at about 8:20 p.m. and found the victim lying in the street. As Moyer was trying to drag Rodrigo-Romero to safety, a car raced out of the nearby driveway, and pointed a gun out the window at Moyer and the injured man.
Lacy said the people in the vehicle were likely not responsible for the shooting, but may have been at the party.
Another tenant said that as he was running away from the vehicle he saw someone running through the back of the complex carrying a rifle. The person then disappeared over a fence into a residential neighborhood in the area of Sunset Park off Sunland Drive.
Officers stationed around Sunset Park later found a rifle near that fence.
During questioning of the people inside the apartment where the party was held, one of the men, Jose Rayo, 25, was arrested for probation violation after officers allegedly found him in possession of a "loaded magazine." He is being held without bail.
Lacy said investigators are trying to locate three men known to them, but she declined to release their names.
Sheriff Ken Furlong said the results of a test to determine if the victim had fired a weapon were not yet available.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Secret Witness at 322-4900. Tipsters can remain anonymous.