Hayward men ID'd as shooting victims

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 4, 2008 | by Matthew Artz

UNION CITY -- Two Hayward residents were identified Monday as the victims of a shooting outside a Union City park Friday evening.

Juan Carlos Gomez, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene from at least one gunshot wound, Lt. Tom Haselton said. Daniel Donate, 20, remains in fair condition after suffering two gunshot wounds, Haselton said.

The victims were sitting in a car in the parking lot of Charles Kennedy Park about 6:10 p.m. when three to four adult men approached them on foot and opened fire, police said.

Police haven't made any arrests. But the investigation is ongoing, said Haselton, who wouldn't discuss possible motives or suspects until he confers with investigators today.

In an effort to escape, Gomez hopped the curb and drove through the grassy park before crashing into several parked cars on 12th Street.

A girls high school softball game under way nearby at James Logan High School was canceled because of the killing.

Friday's shooting was the city's first homicide of 2008. It is the first killing there since 14-year-old Vernon Eddins was fatally shot Dec. 21 near Barnard-White Middle School.

That homicide and the 2007 killing of Logan High School graduate Binian Yifru, 17, sparked the formation of a community group that is lobbying city leaders to allocate more funds for programs to quell youth violence.