SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - More people have reported pellet shootings in the Hillcrest area, months after a string of pellet shootings outside bars.
“I was standing here at the bus stop,” said Martin del Real.
Del Real had finished work Monday night, after 10 p.m., and was waiting for the bus along University Avenue near 6th Avenue when he noticed a dark-colored sedan drive by.
“I heard something shooting, many shooting noises,” said del Real.
“Something hit me in the face. Then something hit me in the cornea of my eye,” he added.
Del Real was struck eight times in the face with gel pellets, leaving him in pain.
Hours later, and a few blocks away, outside Flicks bar, security guard Sam Kata says he had a similar experience when a dark-colored car drove by.
“I felt the pellets shooting by. I was in the Marines, I know. It hit me in the leg,” said Kata.
A photo he took shows the gel residue left behind on the pavement.
These shootings come more than three months after a string of pellet attacks outside bars in the same community. Surveillance video from that time showed a dark-colored car driving by, striking three people, including Eddie Reynoso, who was working at Rich’s nightclub.
“When I got hit, I thought it was a bullet,” said Reynoso. “I had to get shrapnel scraped out of my eye.”
While his physical injuries healed, Reynoso says the incident left him with PTSD.
“It’s changed every aspect of my life. It’s been very painful,” he said.
Police initially investigated those previous shootings aspossible hate crimes, and patrols were increased, but no arrests have been made.
When shown a surveillance photo of the car from the May shootings, Kata said, “It looks very similar. I’m 90% sure it’s the same car.”
Following the earlier shootings, San Diego Police installed 14 smart streetlights in Hillcrest. Several cameras were observed in the area where Monday’s incident occurred, but it is unclear if video footage of the recent incidents exists.
Kata has already given a statement to police. Del Real is expected to give his statement Sunday.
“I’m scared they’re going to do it again if we don’t catch them,” said del Real.
According to the San Diego Police Department, four incidents have been reported over the past week, with the most recent occurring early Sunday near 10th Avenue and University Avenue.
The suspects, described as white males, were seen in a light-colored minivan, police said Sunday.
None of the victims sustained serious injuries. Police urge anyone with information to contact SDPD at (619) 531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
