ONTARIO – Police arrested an 18-year-old Ontario man on Monday, Jan. 1, in connection with a shooting involving two vehicles that occurred over the weekend that left a male juvenile severely injured.
Police charged Gunner Ray Hernandez, 18, with attempted murder, first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree criminal mischief, unlawful use of a firearm, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence, according to a statement from the Ontario Police Department.
Hernandez was arrested at 998 Fortner Street at about 4:30 p.m.
According to police, the shooting happened after a fight between juveniles and young adults, with one group, including Hernandez, in a sport utility vehicle and one in a white sedan. The incident was reported to police just after 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 29, and happened in the parking lot of Albertsons on Southwest Alameda Drive.
Raul Herrera Ramos Jr., 28, a transient, was also arrested and charged with attempting to elude police, unauthorized use of a vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, failure to perform the duties of a driver, first-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person. Ramos, accused by police of driving the sedan that fled the scene, also had several warrants for his arrest.
Police said in the wake of the fight, the SUV pulled onto Alameda Drive, firing about a dozen shots back at the other group. A juvenile standing in the parking lot with the second group was hit by a bullet. Those in the sedan loaded the injured youth into the vehicle and dropped the youth off at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Ontario.
He was subsequently taken to an Idaho hospital, where his condition has improved from critical, police said.
News tip? Contact reporter Pat Caldwell at [email protected]
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE – The Malheur Enterprise delivers quality local journalism – fair and accurate. You can read it any hour, any day with a digital subscription. Read it on your phone, your Tablet, your home computer. Click subscribe – $7.50 a month.
