Teen Grazed in Confrontation With Huntington Police : Shooting: A 16-year-old is treated for a head wound and released to the custody of his parents after an incident with an officer responding to a burglary call.
HUNTINGTON BEACH — A 16-year-old boy escaped serious injury after being grazed in the head by a bullet during a confrontation with a Huntington Beach police officer responding to a burglary call, authorities said Friday.
The teen-ager, who was not identified, was treated at a local hospital after the shooting about 5 p.m. Thursday. He was later released.
“It was just a grazing wound,†Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said. “He’s been released into the custody of his parents, pending any possible charges that the investigation will show.â€
An officer was responding to the report of a burglary at a vacant apartment in the 17100 block of Emerald Lane, across the street from Oak View Park, when the shooting occurred, Huntington Beach Police Officer Mike Corcoran said.
The unidentified officer, who had been checking the apartment, fired his weapon during a confrontation with the youth, Corcoran said. The officer was not injured.
Olson said that a 12-year-old boy who was also in the apartment was taken into custody for questioning but was later released to his parents pending further investigation.
Police would not release any details about the confrontation that caused the shooting. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case because an officer was involved.
A witness at the apartment said the officer’s gun went off when the younger boy apparently tried to knock it from the officer’s hand. Police would neither confirm nor deny that report.
The witness, who did not want his name used, said the officer was standing with his gun drawn in front of an open bedroom window that allegedly was used by the youths to get inside the apartment.
“It wasn’t the officer’s fault,†the witness said Friday. “As a matter of fact, he tried to save the boy.â€
Cynthia Fikse, who lives across the street from the shooting scene, said she and her husband were loading their infant and three young neighborhood children into a car for a trip to a nearby pumpkin patch when she heard a single pop that sounded like a firecracker.
“My husband started screaming, ‘Get into the car!’ and to get out of there,†she said.
Before taking off, Fikse said she saw the officer yelling for cloths to staunch the blood from the youth’s head wound.
“There was just chaos going on,†she said.
Earlier in the afternoon, Fikse said she had noticed the two youths and several others hanging out in front of the apartment complex, smoking cigarettes. She did not recognize the youths as being from her neighborhood, she said.
Results of the investigation by the Sheriff’s Department will be sent the district attorney’s office for review, Olson said.
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