HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A gathering near the Paseo de Susana basketball court took a violent turn when a man smashed windows of at least two vehicles and gunshots were reported.
Even as police are investigating the incident, Department of Parks and Recreation is looking to close down the parking lot area to keep residents who use the park safe.
At midnight Saturday, officers assigned to the Central Precinct Command responded to a reported disturbance at the basketball court by Paseo in Hagåtña.
GPD’s preliminary reports note officers who arrived at the scene were told that a “fight occurred involving several individuals where gunshots were heard.”
Investigating officers later learned that the individuals responsible had fled. No injuries were reported to police officials during the course of the initial investigation, according to spokesperson Sgt. Paul Tapao.
This case investigation is ongoing and has been forwarded to GPD’S Criminal Investigation Division, Tapao said.
“The Guam Police Department is aware of numerous videos depicting the incident circulating on social media. GPD is seeking further assistance from the community relative to this case investigation,” he added. Information can be called into GPD at (671) 472-8911 or (671) 475-8615~7, or submitted anonymously to the Guam Crime Stoppers at guam.crimestoppersweb.com
Area will be closed
Video of the Friday night gathering circulating on social media shows dozens of vehicles at the large parking lot at the north east side of the Paseo De Susana peninsula.
In another video of that evening, a man wearing red shorts, is seen waving around a machete, hitting it against the ground and causing sparks.
“I will need to close the park,” said Department of Parks and Recreation Director Roque Alcantara Sr., saying it’s for the safety and health of the community.
The area has been known to be the location of cars gathering. During Covid-19, concerns were raised when videos showed trucks spinning wheels around the loop with people standing on the truck bed.
“No one was hurt at that time,” said Alcantara. “But now they’re back…. If they’re just there shooting the breeze, it’s OK. But last night was — the gunshots, the damaging of vehicles — this is just too much.
“If it was just a car show, people showing off their cars, then none of that stuff should be happening,” he added.
Alcantara noted that at the time of the people gathered, residents were at the Paseo Stadium watching a baseball game.
“Families with their children were there,” he said.
Alcantara added that he’s seen the cars there on Friday nights but last night was “the worst.”
“They burn rubber and all that and fumes are coming into the stadium. It’s like people would have to wear their masks to protect themselves from the smell,” he said.
Regarding the closure, he said barricades would be placed around the parking area with chains closing it off. The hours would be similar to beach parks at Matapang and Ypao, where parking areas are closed off every evening and reopened in the morning.
In this screenshot from one of the videos shared on social media, a man is seen smashing the front windows of cars in the Paseo de Susana parking lot on Friday.
