Eye on Crime: Santa Maria police officers see increase in shootings throughout city

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The Santa Maria Police Department is investigating a recent increase in shootings in the city.

“We have seen an increase in shootings, '' said Santa Maria Police Lt. Terry Fall.

Shootings are on the rise in Santa Maria this year, and the police department is trying to figure out why.

“Looking for any similarity or commonality between each incident,” said Lt. Flaa.

This includes a fatal shooting that just happened last weekend near Boone and Curryer. 

"Based on the investigation thus far, there was some type of corral or fight,” said Lt. Flaa. “And at some point during this argument, a suspect then pulled a gun and shot the victim."

Another shooting happened Friday, May 28. Both cases are being investigated as homicides.

Detectives say there have been a total of 5 homicides this year.

One arrest has been made in Friday's incident.

“The shooting that happened on east grant and we actually identified a suspect in that case and arrested him within a day and a half we arrested him on that shooting,” said Lt. Flaa. 

Officers are looking into multiple ways to stop the recent string of shootings.

“One is through education with the community. encourage members of the community to report something if they see something suspicious,” said Lt. Flaa.