West Medford, Ore. — A follow-up to a story NBC5 News first brought you Wednesday night. Medford Police responded just before 6 p.m. to reports of gunshots, near the 300-block of Chestnut Street.
When crews arrived on-scene, they found 23-year-old Christian Miguel Barajas dead from an apparent gunshot wound. This is the second drive-by shooting this week in Medford.
“My wife was outside and she heard like a pop, pop, pop noise,” said Medford resident Jason Webb. Webb lives just houses away from where a drive-by shooting killed a 23-year-old man.
“I’d come out and then I seen the police officers turn the block here and then they gunned it down the block,” Webb said.
Webb’s been living in the neighborhood for the past six years.
“This neighborhood – it was decent – but now that more and more stuff goes on it’s kind of scary to let your kids play and all that,” Webb said.
Webb lives with his wife and three daughters, one of whom is just two years old.
“It’s just hard to let them go out and do their thing without worrying something’s going to happen like this incident yesterday,” Webb said.
Webb says it’s recent incidents like the Wednesday’s drive-by shooting that’s making it hard for his kids. to just be kids.
“We don’t even let them walk to school alone and they’re always getting rides and checking every 30 minutes,” Webb said.
Wednesday’s homicide is the second drive-by shooting in Medford in the past week.
“It’s just getting scary because what happens when a stray bullet come and hits one of these guys and then I guess the minivan sped off in a hurry,” Webb said.
Making him worry about the future.
“It’s getting bad around here,” Webb said.
And raising his three young girls.
“If these guys were playing in the yard, or riding their bike in the street, he could have easily hit them,” Webb said.
He’s hoping this incident will be the last.
“I just wish everybody will see this stuff and it’s got to stop, man. Life’s too short and people just doing dumb stuff like that, it isn’t good for anybody,” Webb said.
Witnesses in the area reported seeing a dark-colored mini-van leaving at a high rate of speed towards Meadows Lane.
MPD said detectives are working to determine if this incident is gang-related. MPD detectives and the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement (MADGE) team are continuing to investigate this shooting.
If you have any information, you’re asked to call police.
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