Gunfire leads to injuries

The occupants of a gray or silver pickup opened fire with a handgun and shot two passengers in a white Chevy Impala sedan early Monday morning at about 3:20 a.m., as they were driving south on Highway 41 in the area of 22 Mile House Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP public information officer Greg Rodriguez said one passenger was shot in the chest, seriously injured. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. All victims were thought to be men in their late 20’s to 30’s, he said.

“The other passenger in the Malibu was slightly wounded and the driver had only a few minor injuries,” Rodriguez said. “The driver was continuing to drive south after the shooting ... trying to get his injured passengers to a hospital when he came across a CHP unit on the side of the road and stopped for assistance.”

The investigation was ongoing and the motivation for the shooting is unknown, Rodriguez said, but the victims stated they had just left the Chukchansi Resort and Casino a few minutes earlier and were intending to drive to Table Mountain Casino when a silver pickup truck pulled alongside and opened fire.

Video surveillance footage is being examined from area businesses to attempt to get a better description of the gray or silver pickup truck or it’s occupants.

Road rage, an earlier contact between the men, and/or armed robbery are all being investigated as possible motives in the shootings.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Madera office of the CHP at 675-1025.