NORTH OF MONTANA One of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods fell victim to gun violence this weekend when a man opened fire on a group of partygoers, wounding four people, none seriously, authorities said.
A suspect later turned himself in to police and was booked for conspiracy and attempted murder. His bail was set at $1 million.
The shooting occurred around 1:50 a.m. Sunday in the 400 block of 11th Street. Santa Monica Police Department officers received a report of shots fired and rushed to the scene, where they made contact with several witnesses who had been attending a going-away party at a private residence.
Witnesses told police that several party-goers were approached by a group of men outside the home. One of the men asked the crowd if anyone belonged to a gang or click. When the group said no, the man pulled out a small-caliber handgun and fired several shots into the crowd as he ran away from the scene. Witnesses said the shooter jumped in a silver BMW 5-series and fled the scene.
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen here. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Nick Borkin, the person who threw the party.“We just want justice … We just want (the police) to get everyone involved … It was a perfect party. Everything was going so well and then out of nowhere someone walks up and starts shooting.”
While the officers were at the scene, they were notified that two shooting victims, one male and one female, had arrived at a local hospital and were being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The female victim had been shot in the leg and the male in the forearm and lower torso.
A few minutes later, two other shooting victims, both adult males, arrived at another local hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries. One of the victims had been shot in the thigh, the other in the leg, SMPD’s Lt. Alex Padilla said.
Detectives interviewed the witnesses and victims and were able to identify one of the suspects involved in the shooting. Justus Sackett-Michel, 21, of Los Angeles, voluntarily came to the Public Safety Facility, where he was arrested and booked, Padilla said.
The vehicle the suspects fled in was recovered. It is still unclear if Sackett-Michel was the shooter. Police said they are still searching for the weapon as well as other suspects.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the SMPD at (310) 458- 8427 or detectives at (310) 358-8451.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 17, 2007. Read the original PDF.