Stockton’s police chief and other members of his department gathered Tuesday at the Stockton Waterfront Warehouse for a community walk-through about a recent homicide that took place there over the weekend.
Saturday night, 41-year-old Pedro Pizano was shot and killed following a disturbance at La Vaca En Brasas, a local nightclub inside the warehouse.
Two other victims, a 39-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man, were taken to a hospital and are expected to survive.
Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden visited the businesses located inside the warehouse asking about business hours, to see which places were open later and if they work on weekends.
Other members of the department passed out information on safety resources for people to call in case of emergencies or to seek safety assistance.
“We know a tragedy happened over the weekend and some lives were lost,” McFadden said. “We’re here to support their businesses here, we want our customers to feel safe, we want the businesses to feel safe, and we’re just here to open that communication.”
During the shooting, one of the windows at ShareSTAFF, a business across from where the shooting happened, was shattered.
“Clearly, when people do things, they’re not thinking about their surroundings. They’re just going to do whatever they want to do. They’re not thinking about who’s around me, who am I going to hurt.”
Silvia Verduzco, ShareSTAFF employee
Silvia Verduzco, a staff specialist there, said she wasn’t at work when it happened, but that she did feel in shock that a shooting happened where she worked.
“Clearly, when people do things, they’re not thinking about their surroundings,” she said about the shooter. “They’re just going to do whatever they want to do. They’re not thinking about who’s around me, who am I going to hurt.”
Other workers at the warehouse also expressed safety concerns once the area becomes dark at night.
Adrian Enriquez, who works at a salon inside the warehouse, said he sometimes works until 10 p.m. and tends to walk his clients to their car because they feel unsafe.
“It gets scary after dark,” he said.
An arrest has not yet been announced in connection to the shooting.
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
