HUNTINGTON BEACH : Apparent Prank Leads to Gunfire

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating allegations of a shooting involving an off-duty Huntington Beach police officer.

Details of the incident, which took place Tuesday in the Hathaway Creek area of Barton Creek, are sketchy, Sgt. Larry Brown said.

Brown gave this account of the incident:

The officer, whose name was not released at the request of the Huntington Beach Police Department, was traveling with a woman on California 38 to Big Bear when he spotted what appeared to be someone being stabbed in a group fight.

The officer drove to a turnout about a quarter-mile away and reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Department. He told investigators he was followed by a vehicle parked at the scene. Several people, including a man who was carrying what appeared to be a rifle, got out of the vehicle and approached the officer. The officer then fired several shots at the man carrying the rifle and possibly hit one or two people. The group returned to the vehicle and drove off, Brown said.

Late Wednesday, investigators had determined that the group fight and stabbing were apparently a prank staged by local youths to attract the attention of passing motorists.

“We haven’t been able to confirm anything,” said Deputy Gus Ulloa. “It’s still real sketchy to us. It appears to be a fake fight but we still have to verify the stories.”

The department has not been able to locate anyone involved in the alleged fight or any victims of the shooting.

Lt. Ed McErlain of the Huntington Beach Police Department confirmed that the off-duty officer was involved in the shooting and would be placed on three-day administrative leave while the department conducts its own investigation.