15-Year-Old Girl Wounded in Drive-by Shooting Near Park

A 15-year-old girl was shot in the face in an apparent drive-by shooting Saturday morning that occurred during a confrontation between female gang members near Chicano Park, police said.

The Southeast San Diego teen-ager was listed in satisfactory condition Saturday night at the UC San Diego Medical Center.

San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson said rival Latino gang members were involved in a confrontation about 4:30 a.m. at the park when a vehicle passed by slowly and an undetermined number of gunshots from a large-caliber weapon were fired at the car in which the victim was sitting.

“As the shots were fired she turned her head, which probably prevented a more serious wound,” Robinson said. “The bullet struck her in a grazing-type motion, causing damage to both her face and jawbone.”

He said that gang unit detectives had made no arrests in the shooting but that a male friend of the girl was arrested on suspicion of auto theft in an unrelated case.