1 dead, 2 injured in Visalia shooting, police say

Sunday, August 14, 2016
1 dead, 2 injured in Visalia shooting, police say
One person has died after multiple people were shot in Visalia Saturday morning, police say.

UPDATE: Authorities have identified the victim as Deonte Porchia, 19, of Visalia.

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One person has died after multiple people were shot in Visalia Saturday morning, police said.

According to Visalia Police, the shooting happened around 3:20 a.m. near Woodland Street and Chestnut Court. When officers got to the scene they found three men had been shot.

"We both were sleeping and we woke up and I counted up to 13 shots," neighbor Katie Green said. "We always have people hanging up and down around night time."

Visalia Police said two men were standing in the front yard of a home when the shots rang out. Both were rushed to the hospital where one died but the other is expected to recover.

They also said another man was asleep inside a home when he was hit but police said he'll be okay.

"Basically, a stray happened to strike him while he was asleep," Sgt. Paul Esquibel with the Visalia Police Department said.

The 22-year-old man is now left with a bullet lodged in his leg.

"It's alarming," Green said. "It's disappointing and we're all friendly, so it's disappointing."

Police tell Action News this is not the first time officers have had to respond to this street.

"We do get general calls of service for suspicious activity fights things like that but whether this was gang related it's hard to say," Esquibel said.

Police said the shooting may have been a drive-by and the investigation is still ongoing.

The identity of the victims have not been released and no arrests have been made so far.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Visalia Police at (559) 734-8117.