Dinuba police on high alert after string of shootings across city

DINUBA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Dinuba residents are on high alert after a string of shootings within a matter of days.

Three shootings within a week of each other have Dinuba investigators scrambling to solve cases that may or may not be gang-related.

"The gangs are everywhere," Lt. Abel Iriarte of the Dinuba Police Department said. "They migrate to the small communities a lot because they're being chased out by the larger agencies, but there are gang problems throughout the whole Valley."

Sunday night, police were called to the 200 block of south J street near Dinuba High to reports of shots fired. They found a 19-year-old suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his upper body.

"That person was taken to an area hospital and they appear to be recovering," Iriarte said. "Gang relation has not been ruled out yet, but we're not a hundred percent sure."

Remnants of police caution tape remain near East Golden Way and College Avenue after 21-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez was gunned down Friday night in what police believe was a gang-related shooting.

The family has set up a memorial on their front porch, and authorities do not believe there is a connection to the other two shootings.

"As far as we know there is no correlation at this time," Iriarte said.

And last week, police responded to the Safari Club Restaurant to find a man in his early 20s had been shot during a fist fight. According to authorities, all three incidents do not appear to be related to each other.

"The citizens are safe," Iriarte said. "The Dinuba Police Department is protecting them. These are not random incidents. These incidents are within their own selves, not somebody out here running around do these crimes."

The suspects in all three cases remain at large, police ask you to call 591-TIP1 if you have any information.