Officer Shoots 16-Year-Old Boy in Foot After High-Speed Chase

An unarmed 16-year-old boy, suspected of having stolen a car, was shot in the foot Tuesday by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant who believed the youth was raising a gun after being pulled over, authorities said.

The incident began at 2 a.m. on Sierra Highway at Soledad Canyon Road when the sergeant, whom authorities refused to identify, spotted a stolen Toyota and attempted to pull it over, Deputy Eric Smith said.

The Toyota, carrying two occupants later identified as 16-year-old boys, did not stop and traveled on several area roads at high speeds before going north on the Antelope Valley Freeway, Smith said. The car left the freeway at Santiago Road and headed back to Sierra Highway with the sheriff’s car behind it.

Smith said the driver of the fleeing car pulled over on the Sierra Highway about 2:20 a.m. The sergeant got out of his vehicle and began to approach the car, noticing that one person was in the back seat and one was in the driver’s seat.

“He approached on foot,” Smith said. “As he did this, one of the suspects got out of the back seat of the car on the driver’s side and raised his arm as if he were pointing a gun. The sergeant fired one round from his service revolver, hitting the suspect in the right foot.”

Smith said the sergeant then arrested the two suspects. Smith said no gun was found on either suspect.

The Toyota had been stolen from the San Fernando Valley, and tools believed used for auto burglaries were found on the floor of the back seat, Smith said. The juveniles were arrested on suspicion of auto theft, he said.

The injured boy was treated at Palmdale General Hospital and was transferred to the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. The uninjured suspect was turned over to authorities at the Sylmar Juvenile Center.