By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
Cause: Police suspect rival gang activity in incident.

Tensions between rival gang members exploded Monday night at a local pizzeria as witnesses reported bottles flying and one gunshot in a huge brawl, police said Tuesday.

One man, whose name was not released, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and police arrested three people after the melee, which occurred in the parking lot of Pizza Hut on West Henderson Avenue west of Main Street. Adrian Romero, 19, Benito Bermudez, 20, and Angelita Ortiz, 18, all of Porterville, were arrested in connection to the shooting and brawl. All are documented northern gang members, and Romero is a Pizza Hut employee, police said.

The victim and his associates are all known southern gang members, police said. Police arrived on the scene at 9:45 p.m. to reports of the large parking-lot brawl. Witnesses said several beer bottles were thrown at the victim’s car and reported at least one gunshot.

Detectives learned that one man arrived at Sierra View District Hospital with a gunshot wound in the arm. It was later determined he was injured during the violent exchange. Through their investigation, detectives determined that Romero got into a verbal confrontation with the shooting victim. He then called several friends, including Bermudez and Ortiz, who arrived later, police report.

Several others who assisted Romero were also identified and are being sought by police in connection to the shooting. The suspects were being held at Tulare County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, conspiracy and being gang members.

Employees at Pizza Hut declined to comment, and referred all inquiries to the company’s corporate office in Texas. Corporate officials were not reached at the time of publication.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Porterville Police Department at 782-7400.