The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting on Feb. 18 on the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive. The suspect evaded law enforcement on foot, and the sheriff’s office has since launched an investigation.
According to Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) Deputy Justin Schroeder, there were upwards of 100 people at the party where the shooting occurred. Law enforcement was able to get accounts from dozens of eyewitnesses, some of whom were inebriated, however, which led to conflicting reports. For example, some eyewitnesses said that the shooter had an accomplice, while others said he acted alone.
However, the night of the shooting, the emergency notifications from the university listed descriptions of two suspects.
The main suspect is believed to be the person described as “Suspect #1” in the emergency notification, with the following physical traits: an under 6-foot, medium-built Hispanic, college-aged male wearing a durag, a red top and jeans.
The potential accomplice was the person described as “Suspect #2,” who was described as a college-aged, thin-built African American wearing a gold chain with a gold cross and a red zip-up sweater over a white shirt.
Schroeder said that IVFP currently believes that the shooter was initially refused entrance to the party but forced his way into the residence. The shooter then got into a disagreement with a partygoer.
“We’re still working on what that disagreement was over. During that fight, [the shooter] pulled out the gun and shot one time,” Schroeder said.
The suspect then exited from the back of the house and escaped toward El Nido Lane, according to Schroeder. IVFP found footage of the shooter running by the 7-Eleven on Trigo Road.
“We weren’t able to locate him that night. Since then, our detectives started their investigation. They’re currently trying to figure out who the suspect is by conducting further interviews,” Schroeder said.
