Rare homicide in Novato sparks search for masked suspect

Police in Novato are searching for a suspect in a homicide that led to a brief lockdown in a part of the Marin County town on Tuesday. 

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The first 911 calls reporting a shooting came in around 10 a.m. on Tuesday with multiple shots heard at the 400 block of Alameda del Prado, according to the Novato Police Department. Witnesses told the arriving officers that they saw an individual flee the area on foot via Calle Arboleda. 

At the scene, officers discovered a 31-year-old man with a life-threatening gunshot wound. The man was transported to a hospital for treatment but later died of his injuries. His name has not yet been made public. 

During a search for the suspect, police asked nearby residents to briefly shelter in place as they deployed drones, California Highway Patrol aircraft and canine teams to search the area. In an updated statement posted on Instagram, the police reported that the shooting appeared to be targeted and gang-related. 

Police have not yet released the name of the suspect, but they said the individual was a Hispanic male at a height of about 5 feet, 6 inches and was wearing dark pants, a gray sweatshirt and a black mask. Calls to the Novato Police Department for further updates on the search were not returned before the time of publication.

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Homicides are relatively rare in Novato, a town of about 52,000 people in Marin County. According to data posted by the Novato Police Department, no homicide or manslaughter cases were reported at least as far back as March of this year. Last year, all of Marin County reported seven homicides, according to data from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division.

The Novato Police Department is asking anyone with information on the shooting or footage of the incident to reach out to the department by calling 415-897-4361 or emailing [email protected].