Norco Youth, 16, Shot in Freeway Confrontation

A 16-year-old Norco boy was shot in the shoulder Monday during a freeway confrontation between the occupants of his car and the driver of a red Corvette, police said.

The unidentified victim and two teen-age friends were apparently fired upon on the Artesia Freeway after they “exchanged finger gestures” with the man in the Corvette, Buena Park Police Sgt. Terry Branum said.

Branum said investigators have not yet determined what sparked the shooting. The youths “haven’t said much,” he said.

The shooting occurred about 2:15 p.m. in the eastbound lanes near the Beach Boulevard off-ramp.

The victim, a passenger in the car, was shot in the shoulder by a bullet that penetrated the left, rear panel of the vehicle and was partially deflected by the youth’s right hand, Branum said.

After the shooting, the victim’s friends pulled off the freeway and flagged down a motorcycle officer at the intersection of La Palma Avenue and Western Avenue in Buena Park.

The wounded youth was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange where he was listed in stable condition, Branum said.

The assailant was described as having dark hair and wearing dark clothes, driving a late model red Corvette with a cellular phone antenna on the back.

“Needless to say, we don’t have a whole lot to go on here,” Branum said. Investigators have requested that anyone with information about the shooting call police at (714) 521-9352.