Shooting injures Costa Mesa teen

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- A teenager who was shot in the face Saturday night as he

was waiting in an alley “for a party to get underway” may have been

involved in a gang-related incident, police said Thursday.

The 14-year-old Costa Mesa boy, whose name was not released because of

his age, was standing in an alley behind the 600 block of Center Street

at about 9 p.m. Saturday when he was approached by another person,

possibly in his late teens, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.

“That person was apparently accompanied by several other males,” he

said. “Then, we were told, there were words exchanged, a challenge to

fight and some arguing.”

The older teen then pulled out a shotgun about 15 feet away from the

victim and shot him in the face, Birney said. The 14-year-old was not

seriously hurt, he said.

“The shotgun was loaded with buck shots or pellets that don’t

penetrate deeply,” Birney said.

Police officials decided not to release the information until Thursday

because they had hoped to make an arrest in the case within a few days

after the Saturday shooting. He said gang officers are still looking for

the alleged shooter and are investigating the incident.

“We have got several different accounts of the incident so far,”

Birney said.

He said officers are still not sure if the victim was or is a gang

member.

“He’s not someone who is listed with us or someone we necessarily know

as a being a gang member,” Birney said. But, he added that the incident

showed “all signs” of being gang-related.

Police are still looking for the alleged shooter described as a male

in his late teens with a shaved head, light mustache and wearing a

sweatshirt.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .