EAST PALO ALTO – Nearly three dozen rounds were fired in a shooting that left one person dead and three others injured Tuesday evening at a crowded park in East Palo Alto, police said.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, East Palo Alto Interim police Chief Jeff Liu said two pairs of people exchanged three volleys of gunfire totaling 33 shots.
“We want to emphasize that this was not a random attack of any kind,” Liu said in a statement.
Liu identified the victim who died as Ralph Fields, 34, of East Palo Alto. Fields was a cousin of Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, according to his cousin Camellia Pittman.
The shooting occurred just after 6 p.m. Tuesday at Jack Farrell Park on the 2500 block of Fordham Street. Many people were present, including a number of children, Liu said.
“Our hearts go out to all of those impacted and traumatized by this incident,” Liu said. “Shooting and violence, especially in parks with kids playing, is completely unacceptable.”
Liu said police have stepped up patrols in the area with the assistance of the Menlo Park Police Department.
Even though the park was filled with people, police do not have many witnesses to the shooting, Liu said. He called on community members to share any information or videos they have that are related to the incident.
“We need to come together as a community and send a message that this type of activity will not be tolerated,” Liu said. “Children and families playing in the parks must feel and be safe. Parks are designed for families and healthy outdoor activities.”
Pittman said she arrived on the scene right after the shooting. She criticized the response from police, saying officers didn’t administer CPR to Fields right away because they didn’t have a mouthpiece.
“Police could have saved a life,” she said. “When I got there after I heard the bullet, it took them another 15 minutes or so before they could even perform CPR.”
East Palo Alto authorities didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment regarding their response to the shooting.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact Acting Cmdr. Angel Sanchez at 650-853-3154. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-409-6792, or email epa@tipnow.org.
Join the Conversation
We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.