Ceres police said that there has been a string of drive-by shootings in the past week that are all believed to be gang related.

At 8:36 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11 five shots were heard outside 3201 Matterhorn Way. The front of the house, including the front door, had been peppered by rounds. Five persons were inside the house but none of them were injured.

The occupants told police they had no idea why anyone would want to shoot their house.

At 9:40 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14, a vehicle parked in front of 721 Cadillac Drive was struck by a bullet on the driver's side door. Again, the occupants offered no clues as to why their property was targeted.

Police took a report of a house being shot at during the noon hour on Thursday. A witness said a male in a silver-colored Honda shot into the air in front of 2303 Sixth Street after three females inside the car confronted a female living at the residence. The shot was believed to be fired by a male with the three car occupants to scare off the brother who came to his sister's defense.

A .40-caliber shell casing was found but no bullet.

A fourth shooting was reported at Moffet and Garrison on Friday evening. Police were called at 10:52 p.m. Victims said a gold colored Honda Accord filled with gang members shot at them as they were walking. The group of victims was first approached as they stood outside the Dollar General in the Richland Shopping Center. Someone in a car rolled down the window and asked where the "Scraps" were and showed a black handgun. Scraps is slang for a gang member, said Ceres Police Department spokesman Lt. Chris Perry. They went back inside the store to call friends and then left, walking home on Dale Avenue. The carload of suspected gang members spotted the group at Moffet and Garrison where several rounds were fired. The victims hid behind a vehicle. No shell casings were damage was found.

A fifth shooting was reported at 8:50 p.m. on Saturday when a bullet struck a fence and patio at 3724 Valera Drive. Two shots were heard. A fresh bullet hole was found in the fence and a spent .45-caliber round was found near the patio where people were sitting warming themselves around a burn pit. The round was believed to have originated from the Eastgate area.