SANTA CLARA — Detectives continue to investigate a deadly shooting in the midst of a backyard house party over the weekend in the city’s first homicide in four years, police said.
Santa Clara police Lt. Kurt Clarke said no additional details, including suspect information, were available about the early Sunday violence. Clarke did say that it did not appear to be a random attack and that there is no additional public-safety risk to others.
The shooting was reported about 12:55 a.m. Sunday at a home in the 2500 block of Glade Drive, a block north of Wilcox High School. Responding officers were alerted to a house party there and reports that gunfire erupted in the backyard.
They found a 22-year-old man suffering from at least one gunshot wound, police said. Emergency personnel tried to revive him, but he died at the scene.
His identity had not been publicly released as of Monday. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office deferred inquiries about him to Santa Clara police, who would not release his name, citing an investigatory hold.
State law dictates that identities of victims are public record once authorities notify next of kin.
Residents of the home where the shooting occurred declined to comment, including providing the victim’s name, but said he was their relative.
Until this past weekend, Santa Clara had not recorded a homicide since 2011, when two occurred. There have been several fatal officer-involved shootings, but those are typically not classified as homicides by the Justice Department.
Police continue seeking tips in the Sunday shooting. Anyone with information about the case can contact SCPD Sgt. Derek Rush at 408-615-4814.
Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.
