CHP: Nearly 100 freeway shootings have been reported this month across SoCal
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A spate of unsolved attacks using BB or pellet guns continued Monday on the Riverside 91 Freeway in Riverside and Corona, where windows on four vehicles were blown out, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Ramon Duran said two cars were targeted within a 60-second span about 7:40 a.m. on the eastbound 91 between Magnolia and Tyler streets in Riverside.
"On one car, the rear window was shattered. On another, the right rear passenger side window was damaged," Duran said.
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He said five minutes later, a car on the westbound 91 at Tyler sustained damage to the right rear window, and roughly four minutes after that, at 7:50 a.m., a sedan approaching McKinley Street in Corona was struck by projectiles that shattered the rear window.
"There were no injuries, and no suspects were identified," Duran said.
According to the CHP spokesman, two incidents were additionally reported Sunday night. One occurred at 9:45 p.m. on the eastbound 91, just east of Magnolia, where the right rear window on a vehicle was hit, and the other one occurred 20 minutes later, also on the eastbound 91, near Tyler, where projectiles struck the right front passenger window of a car, causing major damage.
No one was hurt in either attack.
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Altogether, the CHP estimates that close to 100 vandalism incidents have occurred in Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles counties over the last month. It is unclear how many perpetrators there are, whether some are copycats, and what types of cars they're driving, though white sedans were spotted in attacks earlier this month in Corona.
At the end of last week, multiple vehicles were targeted on the 55 Freeway in Orange County. No one was injured.
The CHP has boosted patrols on area freeways and may be a short distance away and have a better chance of capturing a potential suspect if the call is made right away, investigators said. Also, the freeway cameras will help isolate a consistent make or model of a suspect vehicle if investigators can narrow down where an incident occurred.
"We are taking each of these incidents seriously and actively searching for those responsible," CHP Border Division Assistant Chief Donald Goodbrand said last Wednesday.
On May 14, a CHP officer's cruiser sustained a damaged window on the eastbound 91 at Highway 241 in Anaheim Hills. Authorities said it was possible that a rock slung by a passing big rig might have caused the window to crack, but it might also have been vandalism.
Similar incidents have been reported in Los Angeles County. Many have been in the Westminster area of Orange County.
Two motorists reported shattered windows while driving on the 405 Freeway in the Seal Beach area of Orange County on April 27.
Anyone with information about the shootings was asked to call the CHP Border Division Investigative Services Unit at 714-288-6336.