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The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Partiers shot near campus

Published 2006-09-12T00:00:00Z”/>

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Kirk Barron

Three people were treated for nonlife-threatening gunshot wounds after a man fired upon partygoers early Saturday morning on the 700 block of West Sacramento Avenue.

Police officers in the area heard the gunshots and saw people running from the scene as they arrived at 1:42 a.m., according to the police report.

Megan Zecher and Jeff Croshal live in the apartment complex and heard the shots from their living room.

“I heard loud popping coming from down in the parking lot,” Croshal said.

Neither Zecher nor Croshal knew the people who were shot, but Croshal heard all of them drove themselves to the hospital, including one who ended up in the hospital in Yuba City, he said.

Two bullets went through a first floor apartment, and another hit the ceiling of the carport, Croshal said.

Chico police Sgt. Dave Barrow said it is hard to investigate assaults at large outdoor parties.

“We didn’t get a lot of cooperation at the party,” he said. “There were many witnesses, but nobody is talking.”

Police did get some descriptions of the shooter, but it isn’t much, Barrow said.

Part of the problem with outdoor parties is they get out of hand quickly because it is impossible to keep people out, and a “thug” mentality develops, he said.

“Verbal exchanges are usually about nothing, then escalate from verbal to physical, and that sometimes has led to a knife or gun being pulled,” Barrow said. “People are arming themselves now.”

Violence in student neighborhoods often doesn’t involve Chico State students directly. Sometimes Butte College students and out-of-town gang members are involved, he said.

“But the fact is, Chico State students add to the problem by throwing the parties and going to them,” Barrow said.

In 2005, there were 140 assaults reported in Chico. In the first six months of 2006, there were 92 assaults. The statistician at the police department is about two months behind, so the exact number of assaults for the first few weeks of school is unknown, he said.

Many assaults don’t get reported, so the actual number of assaults could be much higher, he said.

Since classes started, police have been busier than usual. The first weekend of school, people threw bottles at police officers near Fifth and Ivy streets, and a man was stabbed Sept. 2 at Fifth and Chestnut streets, Barrow said.

“A lot of assaults occur starting with verbal altercations outside bars,” he said. “And those are doggone common.”

There have been several assaults on the bike path that probably could have been prevented if the people had been traveling in a group, Barrow said.

“They were strong-armed robbery type assaults where people end up accosted and thumped.”

Kirk Barron can be reached at

<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>

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