Two injured after man shoots into cab

A 25-year-old Glenn resident and his female companion were shot Sunday after a cab they were riding in was engulfed in a sea of bullets in Chico.

Chico police believe road rage is the reason an unknown assailant fired multple rounds from a semi-automatic handgun into the cab around 12:30 a.m.

The couple's injuries were not life-threatening, police said.

Chico cab driver, Ed Ort, 48, had picked the couple up at La Salles Nightclub on Broadway just minutes before encountering what he thought was a drunken driver on the Esplanade.

Ort described in a KNVN news report on Monday, the cat and mouse game with the shooter after Ort passed a white midsize Dodge pickup he said was being driven erratically.

After passing the vehicle, Ort said the driver immediately gave chase and acted like Ort had "cut him off or had stolen his leg."

Ort said he accelerated and tried to ditch the pickup, but the driver followed him onto East Third Avenue by cutting the corner sharply and running over the curb.

The driver then blew the stop sign, Ort said, and pulled up along side the cab and fired.

Ort described one large explosion, followed by the multiple rapping of a fast-action weapon.

"It sounded like a bottle had hit the car," he said. "It went 'pow' and then there was glass everywhere, and then all of a sudden there was an automatic weapon: Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and the whole car exploded with glass."

Chico police said Ort described the shooter as a light-skinned African American man with dreadlocks, a dark ball cap and light clothing.

A similar description was given describing a man involved in another Chico shooting two hours later.

Ort said the driver of the pickup immediately fled the area after shooting into the cab and shooting out the windows and side view mirror.

When Ort realized his passengers were hit, he immediately drove the couple to Enloe Medical Center, where they were treated.

"Fortunately, the two kids were all right," Ort said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Chico Police Department at 897-4900.

CONTACT Susan Meeker at 934-6800 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.