Teen’s weekend shooting death part of ongoing gang feud in Wichita, police say
The fatal weekend shooting of a 17-year-old is the result of a two-year ongoing feud between two gangs, Wichita police said Monday..
Capt. Brent Allred said authorities arrested 18-year-old Eduardo Gallardo in connection with Ramiro Valdez’s slaying Sunday but are still looking for at least one more suspect. Anyone who has information about the violence is asked to call Wichita police detectives at 316-268-4407 or leave an anonymous tip with Wichita-Sedgwick County Crime Stoppers.
Crime Stoppers can be reached at 316-267-2111, through the P3 mobile app or online at www.wichitasedgwickcountycrimestoppers.com.
Gallardo was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail early Monday on suspicion of committing first-degree intentional murder, online jail records show. Police said more arrests are expected.
Allred said Valdez was driving a blue 2003 Chevrolet Silverado east on Central at about 2:35 a.m. Sunday when a black pickup truck started to follow him. The driver, Gallardo, approached the Silverado and someone inside the pickup fired a rifle at the Silverado several times. Valdez was hit and died after he was taken to a Wichita hospital for treatment, Allred said.
Two other teens in the Silverado weren’t harmed.
“We know over the past two years there’s been a gang feud going on, which this is part of,” Allred said, adding that some of the city’s other shootings are also linked to the warring gangs and some of the people involved have committed other serious violent crimes in Wichita.
“We know that the majority of the people involved in this incident — which there are multiple — most of them are either documented gang members or associates to gang members or have ties to gang members,” Allred said.
“I don’t know exactly if the 18-year-old was a documented gang member. We know that there were (documented) gang members in the vehicle ... that fired at the victim’s vehicle.”
Valdez’s killing is Wichita’s 17th criminal homicide, which doesn’t include on-duty officer-involved, accidental or justified killings, of the year. There have been at least 21 homicides total.
At a news briefing Monday morning, police misidentified the shooting victim as 17-year-old Adrian Gonzalez. Wichita police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson corrected that mistake in a later email.
This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 10:57 AM.
