FREMONT — Five Newark teens ranging in age from 17 to 19 were detained Thanksgiving night after a Target store was robbed and shots were fired outside the business when security guards confronted them, police said.
No one was injured.
Officers responded about 11:38 p.m. to a report of shots fired at the Target store in the Fremont Hub, which was open until midnight for early Black Friday shoppers.
Police said store security had observed several people filling up a shopping cart with Play Station 4 game consoles and other merchandise and then walking past the front check out counters without paying.
They were met by security personnel outside who tried to stop them. A scuffle ensued with two of the suspects during which the stolen merchandise scattered on the ground, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.
Another suspect then fired some shots into the air before one of the game systems was picked up and the suspects ran to a waiting car which then drove off with the five inside.
A witness told police which way the car had gone and a patrol officer saw it near Mowry Avenue and Glenview Drive. The car failed to stop and a pursuit began. It ended about three minutes later in the area of Central Avenue and Cedar Boulevard in Newark. One suspect tried to flee but was quickly arrested. A loaded gun and the game system were recovered from the vehicle, police said.
The car belonged to the father of one of the suspects, police said.
Police identified the person who fired the shots as Pedro C. Corona, 18, of Newark. He was arrested on suspicion of willful discharge of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
Police identified the driver of the car, who they said was also the person pushing the cart out of the store, as Luis Garcia, 19. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery, evading police and obstructing/resisting a peace officer.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of robbery and obstructing/resisting a peace officer.
An 18-year-old woman and another 17-year-old boy who were in the car were detained, but it was not immediately known if they were also arrested.
The case remains an active investigation.
Check back for updates.