Bay Area man shot in head with BB gun speaks out

Byby Elissa Harrington KGO logo

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

San Leandro man shot in head with BB gun speaks out

For months, someone's been shooting at cars with BB guns. But now, what police think started as a prank is turning dangerous because now people are being targeted.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. -- For months, someone has been shooting a BB gun at cars. BB gun vandals have been hitting the city for months. This weekend, four more cars shot on Teagarden Street. But what police think started as a prank is turning dangerous because now people are being targeted. One man who got shot in the head spoke to ABC7 News about what happened.

Scott Bradley says he had to go to the emergency room and still has part of the pellet stuck in his forehead. He wants to get the word out and catch the people responsible before somebody else gets seriously hurt.

"I didn't really know how bad it was," he said. "So, pretty frightening."

Bradley showed us part of a pellet still stuck in his forehead. He says he was hit in a drive-by shooting the night of March 25 outside of the First United Methodist Church on Bancroft Avenue in San Leandro.

"I felt this huge smack," he said. "And it was pretty heavy duty. And so I went, 'I think they're shooting.' And I went down to the ground and just said, 'They're shooting.'"

Bradley felt a lot of blood and knew he'd been shot. He shared a picture with ABC7 News of the aftermath. Bloody and scared, he went to the hospital and got an X-ray. Medical workers told him somebody else came in with a similar wound from a BB that same night.

"In the emergency room they said, 'Were you on Hesperian?'" explained Bradley. "I was like, 'No, I was on Bancroft, why do you ask?' They said, 'Cause somebody else got shot.' It's crazy, it's kind of surreal to believe people are doing that."

Vandals wielding BB and pellet guns have been terrorizing the community for the past few months.

In just a week and a half, police have responded to reports of BBs blowing out car windows, and damaging storefronts. At least three people have been hit.

"We don't want the violence to continue," said Lt. Robert McManus. "We don't want anybody to get seriously hurt."

Investigators released surveillance video of the suspect car. It's an older SUV with a black or missing gas cap. The suspects appear to be in their early 20s.

The damage from this string of vandalism has totaled more than $60,000.

Anyone with information about the suspects or suspect vehicle is asked to contact the San Leandro Police Department at (510) 577-2750.