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Politics & Government

PHOTOS: Gang Graffiti in Neighborhood of Drive-By Shooting

Photos taken in the past four weeks by Half Moon Bay resident in Arleta Park.

Half Moon Bay Patch has just obtained photos from a graffiti-tagged fence not far from the scene of a in the Arleta Park neighborhood on the afternoon of August 14.

The shooting at First Avenue and Grove Street has been confirmed as an incident that took place between Norteños and Sureños gangs, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. One man was shot in the chest, and another in the foot. Both survived.

Members of both the Norteños and Sureños are known to reside in Half Moon Bay. The Norteños wear red, and the Sureños wear blue.

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Though the Sheriff's Office has made one of a juvenile for threatening a local resident, the suspect is still at large. An investigation of the incident by the Sheriff's Gang Intelligence Unit is ongoing, according to Lt. Ray Lunny.

Sent by a neighborhood resident who wished to remain anonymous, the photos were taken within the past four weeks, the source said, and were taken of the fence facing west of Highway 1 near Filbert St.

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The graffiti in the photos appear to have originated from members of the Norteños gang.

The photos show a series of "NX4," "X4," and "XIV" spraypainted on the fence and adjacent telephone pole. The "Xs," "4," and "XIV"  are recognized as symbolic of the number 14, which is believed to come from the letter "N" as the fourteenth letter in the alphabet. It is also known as shorthand for the Norteños.

The Sureños gang is known to identify themselves by shorthand as "X3" and "XIII," which comes from the letter "M" as being the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. The affiliation with the letter "M" comes from the Sureños' connection with the Mexican Mafia, a United States prison gang.

Graffiti has appeared on neighborhood fences since the shooting as well, according to Half Moon Bay resident Mike Alifano.

On Saturday, Alifano seeing saw graffiti he described as "gang tags" across from where the shooting took place at First and Grove Street.

"I think the gang tags and claim of ownership of a certain areas has been on the rise," he wrote in response to a posted last Friday on Half Moon Bay Patch. "You see them all over the coastal trail and on signs and fences going to and from the beaches."

Last week, city officials said they were planning to hold a community meeting in the "short term" in coordination with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, which has since June 12 of this year.

City Manager Laura Snideman said on Friday that the would consist of information about gangs, signs to look for (including graffiti), and when and how residents can help provide information to law enforcement.

Snideman said that the city would also be implementing "more coordinated graffiti control efforts" over the next few months.

The Sheriff's Office is requesting that anyone with information about this incident come forward. Individuals can call the Sheriff's Office Anonymous Tip Line at 1-800-547-2700 or Detective Matt Broad at 650-363-4363.

Half Moon Bay Patch will continue to follow this story and update the site as more information becomes available.

Editor's Note: The pictures featured in this story from Half Moon Bay Patch were used by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the City of Half Moon Bay in the to explain to the local community the meanings of various gang graffiti tags.

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