HANFORD, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE) – Two Hanford men have been arrested on charges related to a shooting over the weekend, according to the Kings County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say 19-year-old Santiago Cortez and 22-year-old Isias Vasquez were taken into custody for charges related to a shooting at an inhabited dwelling/vehicle.

On Sunday, August 27, 2023, at approximately 7:22 p.m., deputies said they were dispatched to the 11400 block of 10 ½ Avenue, in Hanford, to investigate a shooting.

Authorities arrived and contacted the victims who explained they had been shot at by two unknown men.

Investigators say the victims said they had been at a nearby market when they noticed two men, they did not know in the parking lot. After finishing up inside the store, the victims left the parking lot in their vehicle and the two males followed them in their car.

The victims drove home, and the two men pulled up behind them at an angle. One of the victims began to exit the vehicle to find out what the two men wanted when the two men who were still inside their vehicle began simultaneously shooting at the victims, police say

Several rounds struck the rear of the victim’s vehicle and shattered a side rear window and additional rounds struck nearby homes in the area.

The two victims ducked down in the truck to avoid being struck by the gunfire. Once the suspects stopped shooting, they made a U-turn and drove away. A third victim was standing in the front yard of the residence and was nearly hit by one of the rounds.

Deputies located numerous shell casings at the scene and they also contacted the market and were able to obtain video surveillance of the suspects and their vehicle.

At approximately, 8:30 pm, officers with the Hanford Police Department located the suspect vehicle in the 700 block of Grangeville Boulevard.

Officers conducted a traffic stop and detained two men, Cortez and Vasquez saying that both males matched the two men seen in the surveillance footage and were also identified by the victims.

During a search of the car, deputies say a .40 caliber handgun was located along with several spent shell casings.

Deputies say Cortez had prior convictions for carrying a firearm in a public place, hit and run with property damage, and DUI.

Vasquez also had prior convictions for resisting arrest and threatening a crime with the intent to terrorize with a weapon. Deputies say Vasquez was currently on parole and had been convicted of a felony that prohibited him from having a firearm or ammunition.

Officials say Cortez and Vasquez were booked into the Kings County Jail.