Charges filed in Toppenish shooting

YAKIMA -- An 18-year-old man was charged with shooting what police call a rival gang member in the back while the victim and other teens were walking to school last week in Toppenish.

Chad Duncan of Toppenish was arraigned Tuesday on charges of first-degree attempted murder, or an alternative two counts of first-degree assault, along with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to a police
affidavit filed in Yakima County Superior Court, Duncan and a 16-year-old boy drove by three EAGLE High School students as the trio was walking along Monroe Avenue about 7:45 a.m. last Thursday. The report states the suspects yelled a gang slur before Duncan fired twice.

The affidavit alleges the first shots missed the teens, but that Duncan threw the car in reverse and fired again, this time hitting a 16-year-old boy in the back.

Police later arrested the two suspects at a Buena home. They also seized a .22-caliber rifle and two high-powered pellet rifles from the home, as well as the stolen vehicle believed to have been used in the drive-by.

The victim was taken to Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center, where he was being treated for a bullet lodged near his aorta.

Toppenish police said Tuesday that the boy was still at Yakima Regional, but he had improved to good condition.

Both the shooter and victim belong to rival gangs, police said.

Duncan is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.