Boy, 10, killed in drive-by shooting after ‘dispute among families’ in Yuba County

A 10-year-old boy was struck by gunfire Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Yuba County that officials said followed a “dispute among families.”

The boy, who was not identified, later died at a hospital of his injuries, according to Yuba County sheriff’s spokesperson Katy Goodson.

Soon after, deputies arrested 31-year-old Juan Ortiz, who officials say fired into the boy’s Olivehurst home — just south of Marysville — around 7:30 p.m. Sunday before driving off. Someone in the vicinity of the home fired back at Ortiz, according to authorities, and he was hit but suffered non-life-threatening injuries. That person has not yet been identified or arrested.

Goodson said a dispute earlier that day was “escalating between members of two separate families,” which led to the shooting. She did not confirm whether the boy was a member of one of the feuding families but said he lived at the Alicia Avenue home where he was fatally shot.

The shots fired at the home were “not intended for the child,” Goodson maintained, “however, we don’t know if the shooter was aware there was the child in the home.”

Ortiz was booked on suspicion of homicide, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition, Goodson said. She said Ortiz is a known gang member with a long history of run-ins with law enforcement.