Gangs at One-Mile?

Saturday (July 18) was a scorcher that sent many Chicoans running to the local swimming holes. Anyone who was at One-Mile Recreation Area that day around 4:15 p.m. may have heard a loud bang. Maybe they thought it was fireworks or a car backfiring. Maybe they just didn’t want to believe it was a gunshot.

Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield said hundreds of people were gathered near Sycamore Pool, though only three witnesses came forward.

Witnesses told police a fight started between two groups of men at the park. The dispute reportedly escalated, with men in one group throwing rocks at the members of the other group, who were leaving in a car. One of the men on foot then pulled out a gun, firing a single shot. Police do not know whether the car was hit.

The shooter is described as a husky Hispanic man between 18 and 25 years old. The vehicle targeted by the group was reported as a brown import sedan.

“It looks like it was a gang thing,” Merrifield said.

At the very end of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, a concerned citizen detailed the recent shooting, saying it was evidence that Chico is changing, becoming more like Oakland or San Jose.

“The community doesn’t give a damn,” Michael Reilley said.