Two men die in apparent gunfight over woman in southwest Bakersfield

Dec. 26—A gunfight over a woman left two men dead early Saturday in southwest Bakersfield, police reported Monday.

The Bakersfield Police Department said both men had already succumbed to gunshot wounds when officers responded at 3:51 a.m. to a report of a shooting inside a home in the 9700 block of Snowdon Avenue.

An agency news release said one of the men — the "estranged boyfriend" of a woman living at the residence — was carrying a firearm when he forced his way into the residence just east of Old River Road and north of Panama Lane.

"Inside of the residence he was confronted by an adult male also armed with a firearm, and the fatal exchange of gunfire occurred," the release stated, adding that no one was hurt apart from the two men.

The man who reportedly broke into the home early Saturday may not have been estranged for long: Neighbors said they were accustomed to seeing his white welding truck parked out front, even recently.

They said the other man's vehicle, a white sedan parked by the property prior to the truck's early-morning arrival, was the more uncommon sight.

"I've seen that truck more often than the white sedan," said Adam Herrera, a neighbor living across from the house where the shootout took place.

Another neighbor, who because of the sensitivity of the situation asked not to be identified, agreed that the truck was parked at the property often — and that it was his impression the man lived there.

Herrera said he slept through the gunfight but that his son heard it: two sets of three to four shots each, followed by a woman screaming, "Oh, God! Oh, God!"

The people there were renters who had moved in, along with children, less than six months ago, Herrera said. He recalled having waved at them but said he wasn't more formally acquainted.

Neighbors awoke to find the truck parked half on the street, half on the property itself, Herrera said. He noted people living nearby gathered outside in the cold to witness the aftermath.

"This totally shocked us all," he said. "It was not the way we wanted to wake up." He added he feels bad for the children living there but that he was relieved no one else was hurt.

The BPD release said anyone with information to report about the matter may call the agency at 661-327-7111.