Los Angeles Times

Fourteen shot:

People wounded at a party in Bakersfiel­d are expected to survive.

- By Matt Stevens matt.stevens@latimes.com Twitter: By Matt Stevens

Three young men who were told to leave a Bakersfiel­d house party returned early Saturday morning and opened fire into a crowd of more than 100 teenagers, injuring 14 people, authoritie­s said.

The shooting occurred about 1 a.m. in the 600 block of Stephens Drive and left two people in critical condition, said Ray Pruitt, a spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff’s Department.

All of the victims were expected to survive.

As of Saturday night, no arrests had been made, Pruitt said. A girl who lives at the home where the shooting occurred was given permission to throw a party by her parents and promoted the party on social media, Pruitt said.

“At some point, people who were not invited showed up,” he said.

The party swelled to at least 150 revelers and “at some point, it got out of control,” Pruitt added.

Authoritie­s believe a verbal confrontat­ion took place between two groups in the backyard of the house, and several people were told to leave the party.

“They did leave, and we believe it was those individual­s who left the party that came back and opened fire on the crowd,” Pruitt said, adding that investigat­ors believe the shooting was gang-related.

The Sheriff’s Department said the incident was initially believed to be a drive-by shooting, but Pruitt said investigat­ors now believe the three males got out of a vehicle, walked up to the crowd outside the home and opened fire before fleeing in the vehicle. Authoritie­s also believe that at least one person in the crowd returned fire.

Pruitt said his department does not have a descriptio­n of the vehicle and deputies have been having difficulty getting victims and witnesses to identify the shooters.

The shooting occurred on a suburban street lined with tract houses not far from the interchang­e of California 99 and 58.

Vic Hager, 63, lives across the street from the house where the party and shooting happened. In a phone interview Saturday, he said there were at least 150 people at the party. Most attendees appeared to have been dropped off because the street was not filled with cars, he said. The party got a little noisy, Hager said, adding that “it wasn’t out of line.”

Pruitt, the sheriff’s spokesman, said he was not aware of any noise complaints reported before the shots were fired.

Hager said he had just gone to bed about 12:30 a.m. when he heard what sounded like fireworks.

“Then the pops got a little slower, and I realized it was a gun, and by the time I looked out my window, everyone was scattering,” Hager said.

He estimated that at least 15 shots were fired but said he had no idea who opened fire.

When he looked out his window, he said, he heard people screaming and saw at least three teens injured on the ground. A short time later, law enforcemen­t vehicles and ambulances arrived, clogging the street.

Hager said most of the people being transporte­d to hospitals were sitting upright on gurneys or in wheelchair­s and appeared to be conscious.

He said a woman who lives in the house told him that her husband was shot in the neck, but that he had been released from the hospital.

Hager said he set up an awning, fans and other accommodat­ions for the family, who were camped in his yard Saturday morning as they waited to return to their home.

He said he believes the family includes a man and his wife, a high-school-age daughter and possibly a son, but he declined to identify them.

He praised the family as the “best neighbors,” who watch over his property when he and his wife leave town.

There is a possibilit­y the parents could be held liable for violating Kern County’s “social host ordinance,” Pruitt said, because authoritie­s believe the parents allowed juveniles to come to a party where alcohol was served.

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