Vallejo ice cream vendor stable, suspect identified as runaway
An ice cream truck operator shot in the chest Wednesday on a Vallejo street was in stable condition Thursday, though in pain. Vallejo police, meanwhile, identified the shooting suspect as a 15-year-old runaway.
"She's not doing so good. She's in a lot of pain. But she'll survive and everything will be all right," Amarjit Kaur's brother-in-law, Jaswan Malhan, said from the hospital.
Amarjit Kaur, 39, hasn't yet told any family members what happened Wednesday afternoon, he said, adding: "She talks a little, then sleeps."
The widowed mother of three was shot shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday near Springstowne Middle School.
Police responded to a 911 report of an injured woman and found her slumped over the steering wheel of her Tony's Ice Cream truck, partially on the sidewalk in front of Reignierd Preschool, a few blocks away on Springs Road.
Vallejo police late Thursday night identified the suspect as a 15-year-old runaway from the Hayward area. In a press release, police said the suspect is believed to be Peter Montenegro, who is said to be armed and dangerous.
Montenegro was identified from a surveillance camera at Sac's, a Vallejo restaurant, shortly after Kaur was shot.
Vallejo police said the suspect ran away from his Hayward-area home recently.
"We have some strong leads as to the identity of the man on the surveillance video, and we want to interview him to determine what, if any, part he may have played in the incident," Vallejo Police spokesman Abel Tenorio said earlier Thursday.
"Until we identify that person of interest, we won't know what part he may have played, besides being nearby when it happened, or what he might know. We're open to the possibility that the suspect is someone else entirely."
Police planned to question the victim later Thursday.
The shooting prompted what Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Reynaldo Santa Cruz on Thursday called "an informal lockdown," for participants in an after-school program at Springs-towne. Santa Cruz said he misspoke Wednesday when he said the 50 or 60 students were locked down on campus, awaiting police release.
"Parents were called and told this was a different kind of day and would they come pick up their student," he said Thursday.
The motive for the shooting is still unclear, but some local mobile ice cream vendors suspect it was robbery.
"We are scared right now," said Mon Duwan, a colleague and friend of Kaur. "We haven't had a chance to discuss (what we may do differently) -- we're just worried about the lady -- but everyone is scared for their safety. There's not enough police in Vallejo, and people are scared."
Driver Harish Joshi, who also manages a distribution yard catering to area vendors, said they are nervous. "We've spoken with our distributor and we plan to have a meeting about safety," he said.
Joshi said members of Vallejo's Hindu community have been visiting the hospital and the Kaur home to offer the family support.
Kumer Raj, the priest at the Vallejo Hindu Temple that Kaur attends, described her as an honest, hardworking woman. "She comes to the temple on Tuesday nights and she cooks and she cleans the temple," Raj said.
Solano County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that helps solve this crime, but Solano County Sheriff candidate Tom Toler said he's doubling that with his own money.
A bail bondsman and a resident of unincorporated Solano County near Vallejo, Toler said he was moved by this crime and wants to send a different message about this area than the shooter did.
"I just want this lady to know we don't condone this type of behavior," Toler said. "I understand she's an Indian lady, a widow, in the county only a few years, and is just trying to make a living.
"This country's made up of immigrants, and I want that lady to know that this isn't what we expect from our citizens. I want her to know we welcome her to the country and we're sorry for what happened." said Toler, who also is contributing to the reward to solve the case of a beating of a city employee on Monday.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the Solano County Crime Stoppers reward fund can make a check to the organization, with case No. 10-01325 on the note line, Tenorio said. The check can be sent in care of the Vallejo Police Department, attention Sgt. Kevin Bartlett.
Information on this crime can be provided to Vallejo police at (800) 488-9383 or made anonymously to the Crime Stoppers tip line at 644-STOP.
A relative has started a fund to help the family in the name of Kuldeep Malhan, at the Bank of America, account No. 488019845001.
****KIDS- Start fuckin snitchin!!! Fuck that.......don't let little assholes like this ruin the streets!
I was NEVER afraid to walk to the store by myself, or go out to get food alone after dark, but I am now. Everyone gets a sideways glance as I get out of my car.
I know there aren't too many women who post on here, but maybe you can pass this tip along to your moms, sisters, girl, whatever.....NEVER carry your money or cell phone in your purse. Keep your keys, money and phone in your pocket. These lil bastards will snatch your purse and run.