The non-profit charity Mothers Against Murder (MAM) is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect in the shooting of a resident last weekend who had been carrying out a series of carjackings in parked cars in Palo Alto.
The Police Department announced this in a statement detailing that the incident took place last Saturday, January 29.
It was around 11:58 p.m. that day when the dispatch center received a call reporting a shot fired during a carjacking that had just occurred in the 3600 block of South Court.
The caller reported that he had not been struck by the suspects who fled in a vehicle, to which officers responded immediately but were unable to locate them, authorities said.
He also noted that the investigation revealed that the victim, a man in his thirties, noticed lights shining on the street in front of his home. When he looked outside, he saw several suspects walking down the street with flashlights, shining lights on parked cars and attempting to open car doors.
The man left his home to confront them and found one of the suspects standing by the open driver's door of his car in his driveway, and chased him on foot as they ran toward a getaway vehicle.
As the suspects were getting into the vehicle, the victim heard what he believed was a gunshot and thought he saw the bullet impact the pavement in front of him. The vehicle drove north on South Court and then east on East Meadow Drive. The victim then called police. Officers located a spent shell casing from a .40-caliber handgun at the scene and will process it into evidence.
Police believe this group of suspects was the same one later reported to have committed similar crimes in the 700 block of Talisman Court earlier that night.
"We hope this reward will encourage anyone with information about this dangerous suspect and his accomplices to come forward and speak with our detectives," said Chief Robert A. Jonsen of the Palo Alto Police Department.
«Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our community, and we are deeply grateful for the support of Mothers Against Murder to help reduce gun violence," he added.
Mothers Against Murder is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2003 by longtime Palo Alto resident Roger Smith, who remains the corporation's president.
Its aim is to ensure that the rights of crime survivors and their families are not ignored within the criminal justice system and to achieve a fairer and more balanced system for all.
Mothers Against Murder is a vocal advocate for survivors of violence, with three main goals: fighting for justice, raising awareness and generating empathy, as well as providing moral and financial support.
For more information about this association, you can visit their website at www.mothersagainstmurder.org or call (650) 285-9221.
Finally, the Palo Alto Police Department is urging anyone with information regarding this incident to call the 24-hour tip center at (650) 329-2413.
He stressed that information can be provided anonymously via email to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.
