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Grass Valley police make arrest in downtown Airsoft shooting; no serious injuries

Jace Samuel Manoguerra
Provided

The man accused of firing an Airsoft gun at a Back the Blue rally met Grass Valley police at the local California Highway Patrol office, authorities said.

Officers found Jace Samuel Manoguerra, 21, with a cell phone video and surveillance footage, finding the license tag number of a rental van they say he was using. They then spoke to the person who’d rented the van and loaned it to Manoguerra, Capt. Steve Johnson said.

“He actually agreed to meet with us,” Johnson said of Manoguerra. “He met with us and brought the gun that was used.”



Police say Manoguerra shot an Airsoft gun around 7 p.m. Saturday at people attending a Back the Blue rally at Neal and South Auburn streets. No one received serious injuries, though several people were struck, including a juvenile.

“They hurt,” Johnson said. “In this case, they broke the skin.”



Johnson said the Airsoft gun shoots plastic BBs.

Officers responded and watched a cell phone video someone had taken. With that video, and knowing the time the shooting occurred, they found the van’s license tag number from surveillance cameras. That led them to discover the van was a rental, and ultimately to Manoguerra, Johnson said.

The captain said Manoguerra claimed no allegiance to a specific group, though he noted: “He very specifically targeted the Back the Blue people.”

According to Johnson, police conferred with the District Attorney’s Office on the charge Manoguerra would face: felony assault on a person by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.

Manoguerra has since made his $25,000 bond, Nevada County Jail records state.

Alan Riquelmy is the city editor for The Union. He can be reached at ariquelmy@theunion.com or 530-477-4239.


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