LIVE OAK — Authorities have arrested a Hayward man suspected of unloading a handgun into the vehicle of a family of five during an apparent “road rage” incident last year.
Raphael Shakur Abduh-Salam
Investigators believe 33-year-old Raphael Shakur Abduh-Salam, 33, fired off 15 rounds using an extended ammunition clip after the two vehicles were in a Friday-night Highway 1 fender-bender in May. The shooting and related shrapnel injured the father, who was driving, and his 3-year-old child in the backseat. Both were treated and released from the hospital within 24 hours.
“Really, as it is in law enforcement, you find that some things are just miracles,” Santa Cruz County Undersheriff Chris Clark said during a press conference Thursday morning put on jointly by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Cruz-area California Highway Patrol. “Miracles that people aren’t more seriously hurt.”
The shooting occurred while the two cars were pulling off on a Freedom Boulevard offramp after the family vehicle crashed into the back of a gray Acura MDX SUV that officials believe Abduh-Salam was driving. Investigators believe the Acura’s driver was operating erratically before the crash and had pulled in front of the other vehicle and braked suddenly, officials said Thursday.
Abduh-Salam remained held Thursday on a parole hold in Contra Costa County Jail and was expected to be sent to Santa Cruz County on suspicion of multiple counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an occupied vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition by month’s end, said lead investigator Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ian Patrick.
“I want to stress on the front end that this is still an open investigation,” Patrick said during the press conference. “We also believe that our investigation ties into other open investigations throughout the Bay Area.”
Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ian Patrick points to where a child’s car seat was struck in May during a highway shooting near Aptos. (Jessica A. York — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Patrick declined to provide specifics on the possible related investigations except to say that law enforcement believed the handgun had been used in multiple San Francisco Bay Area shootings.
Santa Cruz County sheriff deputies and CHP responded to the shooting around 8:40 p.m. May 26 near the Freedom Boulevard exit on southbound Highway 1. There, they found a shot-up Lexus SUV that had been occupied by three adults and two children, including an infant under a year old. Patrick said the two vehicles had begun exiting the highway after the crash when the Acura’s driver, in the lead, “sharply turned left, so that the driver’s side door was facing the front of the Lexus vehicle” before shooting into the Lexus’ front windshield.
“One round actually traveled through the vehicle and through a child car seat that was in the back of the vehicle,” striking a 3-year-old, Patrick said.
The Acura’s driver then fled back onto the highway. Passengers in the two vehicles allegedly did not know each other and were interacting by chance, according to Patrick. No witnesses were able to take down the vehicle’s license plate number.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ian Patrick displays an image Thursday of a handgun believed to be used in an Aptos roadrage shooting and which may be tied to additional Bay Area crimes. (Jessica A. York — Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Investigators analyzed crime scene evidence to draw a connection to a gun used in other crimes, Patrick said. Reviewing the other cases, detectives were led to a general geographic area where they believed their shooter resided. The Santa Cruz County Auto-Theft Reduction & Enforcement Team stepped in to help locate a vehicle matching the same description with rear-end damage in Hayward. Weeks of surveillance led investigators to Abduh-Salam and a search warrant served Nov. 14 by deputies and the CHP Coastal Division turned up a Glock handgun and high-capacity magazines that ballistic testing tied to the shooting, Patrick said.
A witness’ dash-cam footage assisted law enforcement in their investigation on this case. Others who may have information related to the crash are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office dispatch line at 831-471-1121.
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