Coachella officials working to keep teens safe following recent shootings

In less than 24 hours, three boys have been shot in Coachella. Today, we learned the three boys shot were students at Coachella Valley High School.

The first shooting happened on Wednesday at around 5 p.m. on at an apartment complex on the 1400 block of Orchard Avenue. A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized with major injuries.

The second shooting, happened yesterday at around 4 p.m. just a few blocks away from the first. Two more 14-year-old boys were shot and hospitalized.

In response to these recent shootings, Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez confirmed there will be additional resources for the investigation, including the deployment of the gang task force. Today shortly before 5 p.m., the Gang Task Force arrested two suspects in a vehicle that matched the description of those shootings.

Read: Two arrested following pursuit, vehicle matched description of Coachella shootings

The Coachella Valley Unified School District is also taking action to keep students safe, increasing guard visibility and modifying patrol schedules to ensure security at school campuses.

Nearby residents told News Channel 3 they are afraid for their kids, hoping this violence comes to a stop.

“Today, I took her to school and I told her to call me when she’s coming home,” one parent said. “This is something we never expected to happen.”

“It certainly raises the fear and concern with everyone involved. Parents, teachers, students. however, have to understand that we are actively working to maintain a safe community and a safe learning environment for everyone,” said Federico Gonzalez, the director of campus safety and security for CVUSD.