Police Seek Juvenile in Shooting Attack

VENTURA —  Three Oxnard gang members who ran from a confrontation on a busy sidewalk in east Ventura on Saturday were shot at several times by a suspected rival gang member, police said.

Neither pedestrians nor the intended victims--three boys ages 15 to 17--were injured in the 12:15 p.m. incident in the 10000 block of Telephone Road, Ventura Police Sgt. Bob Velez said.

The youths were about to walk into a liquor store at 10225 Telephone Road when another male juvenile, believed to be a rival gang member, ran up and loudly demanded to know where they were from, Velez said, adding that the phrase is used by gang members to ask about gang affiliation.

“They knew what was next so they didn’t bother answering and they started running,” Velez said.

The juvenile then fired several shots at the youths, Velez said. The sergeant said the street was crowded with pedestrians. The juvenile then fled in an opposite direction.

Business owners in the area reported the shots, police said.

Police searched the nearby neighborhood for about two hours, but no arrests were made, authorities said.

Police said the juvenile was about 15 years old, and wearing a turquoise shirt.