Police make arrest in Merced shooting that injured five juveniles
Editors note — Merced police on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 said Daniel Mays was being released from the Merced County jail without charges.
Original Feb. 4, 2020 report:
Merced police on Tuesday arrested a 48-year-old man in connection to the shooting of five juvenile victims, that sent four teenagers to the hospital.
Acting Merced Police Chief Matt Williams confirmed Daniel Mays was arrested in connection to last week’s shootings near downtown Merced.
Mays was booked into the Merced County Jail at 8:36 p.m.
The charges listed include attempted murder and participation in criminal street gang activity. His bond is listed at $2.55 million.
Detectives were able to identify Mays as a suspect. A search warrant was secured for a residence in the 100 block of W. Main Street and an arrest warrant for five counts of attempted homicide on the suspect.
The Merced Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit executed the search warrant at around 2:30 P.M. on Tuesday. SWAT Officers were able to take Mays into custody without incident. Mays was turned over to detectives to be interviewed.
A search was conducted of Mays’ residence. Some items of evidence were found, however, the firearm was not located and is still outstanding.
Initially when officers responded to the 100 block of West Main Street on Thursday after receiving reports of the shooting, they found four juvenile victims. The victims were taken to local hospitals shortly after police arrived, and officers shut down that block to vehicle traffic as they processed the scene.
Detective-Sgt. Rey Alvarez this week said one of the four victims remains in critical condition. The ages of the victims, all of whom are teens, have not been released.
A fifth juvenile has since come forward and sustained a non-life threatening injury during the shooting.
Detectives are still working on establishing a motive for the shooting. They have not ruled out the possibility the shooting may be gang related.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective John Pinnegar at 209-388-7712 or the Merced Police Department Tipster Line at 209-385-4725.
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 10:22 PM.
