Gumball shooting in Ventura sparks claims of similar incidents

An apparent gumball shooting in Ventura that recently struck a woman in the neck has sparked concerns there may be other such incidents.

The account has spurred media reports of multiple victims of similar circumstances, but no other recent reports had been submitted to the Ventura Police Department as of Wednesday.

The woman said she'd been shot with what appeared to be a gumball on July 7 near Thompson Boulevard and Chrisman Avenue, said police Cmdr. Ryan Weeks.

The victim took a photo of the gumball before discarding the projectile, Weeks said. She gave the photo to police, but authorities don't have the actual item, he said.

"We are actively investigating this first case from this year," Weeks said on Wednesday.

The injured woman, who declined to give her name for safety reasons, said she was struck around 6:10 p.m. on the 7th as she was walking on Thompson.

"I felt a very hard, hot burning snap or pain on the right side of my neck," she said last week. "I immediately fell to the ground because it was so forceful and painful."

The impact resulted in a welt that formed into a blister. A photo shared on social media shows a reddened area hit by the projectile.

"It still hurts, it still stings," she said.

Weeks said investigators don't yet know how the gumball was sent flying.

"No one has seen anything, so we don't know if it's being shot out of some kind of a weapon" such as a paintball gun or slingshot, he said.

The victim posted about the incident on social media and got a lot of response from people online, Weeks said.

Police looked into the matter and found another woman appeared to have been shot by a gumball in the neck in the same neighborhood about a year ago, on July 3, 2023.

The department has been searching for similar calls but hasn't found any, Weeks said.

“We haven’t completely exhausted our search,” he said last week.

On Tuesday, the woman said she appreciated that police were asking for more information about possible incidents on the department's Instagram and Facebook accounts.

"It's something that clearly needs attention," she said.

The woman said she's aware of 12 people have may have experienced something similar, including some who contacted her and some in news accounts.

Victims of similar crimes are asked to contact the Ventura Police Department's non-emergency line at 805-650-8010.

Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.