Three juveniles are in custody, one juvenile remains in critical condition in Reno, and investigators believe drugs could be the motive in a Tuesday night shooting in east Carson City.
“The motive appears to be drugs at this point in time,” Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said Wednesday morning. “We’re still interviewing collateral people, but everything we know, everyone appears to be safe.”
Furlong said following the shooting, the Carson City Sheriff's Office worked through the night in coordination with the Carson City School District, “measuring threat levels to schools down to the wire.” He said the three juveniles in custody are Carson City residents. Extra deputies and juvenile probation officers were assigned to schools to enhance security. Furlong said “everything is safe now” as investigators piece together what happened.
According to a press release issued by CCSO, 911 calls first came in at 7:03 p.m. Tuesday. Calls reported an active shooting at the 3300 block of East Carmine Street. At 7:06 p.m., CCSO received reports of a gunshot victim in a vehicle located near the intersection of Sherman Lane and Concord Drive, approximately a half-mile away. At 7:13 p.m., additional reports were received of another gunshot victim at the 3000 block of Carmine Street. CCSO and fire personnel and paramedics were dispatched to both locations.
At the intersection of Sherman Lane and Concord, paramedics treated a victim identified as a 16-year-old Lyon County juvenile with a gunshot to the face. The juvenile was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center by Care Flight in critical condition. Furlong said Wednesday the juvenile remains in critical condition.
On Tuesday night, medical units treated a second 16-year-old juvenile from Carson City with gunshot wounds to both legs at the 3000 block of Carmine Street. The victim was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center by ambulance and later discharged from the hospital. Following his release, the male suspect was arrested at 12:42 a.m. Wednesday for battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm within city limits. He was transported to the Carson City Juvenile Detention Center, according to CCSO.
At the scene of the shooting, detectives were able to identify two additional suspects who had fled the area on foot prior to law enforcement arrival: a 17-year-old Carson City juvenile female and a 15-year-old Carson City juvenile male. Detectives were also able to determine approximately 17 shots had been fired from handguns and several vehicles were damaged by an escaping vehicle. That vehicle was recovered at Sherman Lane and Concord Drive. Detectives recovered multiple baggies of marijuana and mushrooms from the vehicle.
Around 4:10 a.m. Wednesday, a CCSO Tactical Team made contact with the 17-year-old female suspect at the 1600 block of Sanoma Street. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday, a CCSO Tactical Team made contact with the 15-year-old juvenile suspect at the 400 block of Winnie Lane and took him into custody without incident.
Furlong said charges against the two additional suspects are pending. He said as of Wednesday morning, no firearms had been recovered. He said the shooting happened on a dead-end road behind a CVS pharmacy.
“We have video,” he added.
Anyone with information should contact the Carson City Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division at 775-283-7856, or 775-887-COPS.