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By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune October 21. 2014 3:40PM Medford police investigate gunfire report The Medford Police Department is investigating a report of shots fired on Benson Street Monday night that police believe may have been gang-related. Medford police Lt. Mike Budreau said dispatchers took a call of shots fired near the intersection of Dakota Avenue and Benson Street around 10:28 p.m. Officers at the scene couldn't find evidence of a gun being fired or of anybody being injured, but based on witness accounts, there seemed to have been a confrontation of sorts just before the shots were heard.  Budreau said police do believe shots were fired, based on the circumstances of the report. Whether the shots were fired at another person, at a vehicle or into the air isn't known, he said. "There appeared to be some statements being yelled back and forth by people at the scene," he said. "It's strangely coincidental with an incident we had on Main (Street) several weeks ago." On Sept. 25, witnesses reported that two to four shots were fired after yelling between several people in three vehicles near Black Bird Shopping Center. As in Monday's incident, police couldn't locate any evidence of injuries, damage to structures or shell casings. In that case, police did identify two vehicles they believed were involved in the incident, but no arrests were made. The gunshots were reported in an area that's been relatively quiet for more than a year, police said. "Summer of 2013, we had a lot of gang activity on Benson Street," Budreau said. "To the point that we had to adjust our patrol schedule." In May 2013, a drive-by shooting occurred near the intersection after a dispute between Sureños and Norteños gang members. Two months later, police arrested a 15-year-old Medford boy on charges of attempted first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, reckless endangerment and a probation violation. Two other people were charged with hindering prosecution. Later that month, police arrested 33-year-old Adan Valdez, a self-proclaimed Sureños gang member, after he allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old man at a house on nearby Plum Street in what officers believe was retaliation for an attack by a rival gang earlier that day. Valdez is set for trial Dec. 16 on charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, resisting arrest and felon in possession of a restricted weapon. Since police increased patrols, there haven't been any major incidents, Budreau said, but they're keeping a close eye on the situation after these two recent calls. If there is renewed tension in west Medford's gang scene, he said, police want to stop it from escalating to the point that somebody gets seriously hurt. "It doesn't take a lot to invoke a violent response from gang members," he said. Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ThomasDMoriarty. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141021/NEWS/141029920 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->