There was a grenade blast in the city last night. The deadly explosive device was used in a gang-related attack on a group of young men in the Mayflower Street area known as ‘Bailar.’ One 16 year old is dead, another young man is critical and 10 others, including a woman, were injured.
It is a crime that has stunned the city– even in a community that, to some extent is used to hearing of gun violence, this is another level. It is more than just another crime, it is an act of urban terror: against the residents of Mayflower Street and the wider community. Moreover, it is a dangerous escalation of the gang warfare in the streets. And giving the story the importance it deserves, our 7NEWS team has been working on it since last night. We’ll have 3 stories tonight examining the unprecedented crime and its aftermath from all angles. We begin on the scene last night where 7NEWS found blood stained streets and terrified families.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
This small depression in the street, about 6 inches wide and 2 inches deep marks the spot where the grenade detonated. It is surrounded by bloodstains from those who were immediately next to it when it exploded. The impact also shattered the rear window on this van which is about three feet away from the spot where it detonated. Beside the van, which was parked about three feet away from the point of impact. Beside the van we saw a plastic chair that was smashed and a pair of slippers from one the victims lay strewn. Residents of Mayflower Street gathered around in disbelief to examine the site.
And while that was the crime scene in the heart of Bailar, the drama played
out here at the KHMH where dozens of concerned, terrified and confused family members gathered to form an angry and emotionally wrought scene. This blood stained woman who had been at the scene wanted to go inside to see her relatives and police were keeping her out.
Frustration with the police by these desperate relatives was mounting and this weary mother just hung her head. While this relative’s tears could find no suitable consolation from Senior Superintendent Aaron Guzman.
Norman Reyes had two sons in the explosion, Teddy Reyes and Ervin James.
Alfonso Noble,
How long have you been out here?
Norman Reyes, Father of Victims
“At least an hour or hour and a half and they don’t want me
to go inside and see any of them.”
Alfonso Noble,
Do you know what is the condition of your sons?
Norman Reyes,
“No they don’t want to tell us because they say they are going into the theatre. They don’t know if he can mek or can’t mek it but he is going into the theatre.”
Alfonso Noble,
What are the best wishes for your sons right now?
Norman Reyes,
“I wish they live. I wouldn’t want them to die because I just had one who was shot in his house about six months ago who already died.”
Alfonso Noble,
Any of your relatives were injured?
Woman #1,
“Yes, a lot of them because 11 of them are in the hospital right now; eleven.”
Mass uncertainty and Guzman did defuse the tension by admitting 2 relatives per injured person in an orderly, managed fashion – which gave the families some slender assurance that they would at least get to see their loved ones. And while the families went in with some sense of relief, this mother came out crying inconsolably - barely able to hold herself up while others queued up in the vestibule and looked in, anxious and overwhelmed.
But the Hospital was not overwhelmed. 20 extra staffers were called in:
Dr. Khalid Gauzy, KHMH’s Chief of Medical Staff
“We got a call earlier with twelve victims of multiple penetrating injuries to the body. Out of the 12 we have two critical patients and ten in fair conditions. We cannot say it is stable but they are in ‘fair condition.’ They sustained injuries to the head and body and we are dealing with them at the present time. These kinds of injuries sometimes are very tricky. We have to be careful about it, a small shell will, at an important of part of the body, cause a critical injury.
Up to now I have about 20 doctors right in there, in the hospital. Today is Sunday so we got response from everybody. We have enough nursing staff and enough equipment to handle these cases.”
And while the hospital handled the extra load, can the police deal with another outbreak of violence? Guzman says they can’t do it without he community’s help.
Supt. Aaron Guzman, CIB Commander
“We are the people that make up this country and only we and we alone can keep the peace. So I am saying that if it is that the folks that got injured say to us, ‘this is the person that we saw come and dropped off something that exploded,’ then the police will go ahead and make that arrest. But without that, we will not make an arrest.”
By the end of the night one person, 16 year old Darren Trapp had succumbed to his injuries. In just a few minutes, we’ll show you who he was and speak to his family, as well as having the relatives and pictures of other victims.
