Boy Shot to Death at Holiday Party

A 15-year-old student at Saddleback High School was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon during an argument at a party celebrating a school holiday, police said.

The teen-ager, whose name was not released pending notification of his relatives, was shot in the back about 1:40 p.m. in front of a home in the 1700 block of West Willits Street where the party was being held, Police Lt. Chuck Magdalena said. The youth died a short time later at UCI Medical Center.

Police suspect that the assailant, who remains at large, had argued with the victim earlier that day at the party. Investigators have not determined whether the incident is gang-related, Magdalena said.

“The 15-year-old was shot after a verbal argument escalated into a physical confrontation,” Magdalena said. “The argument began with several participants, then one of the subjects left and returned later” with an unknown type of pistol.

Police said the party guests scattered when they spotted the gun. Magdalena said investigators believe at least two shots were fired.

Neighbors who witnessed the shooting, including one who administered first aid to the boy, said he was shot three times in the back as he entered a car to leave the party.

“One of the kids got out of hand and jumped out of a Volkswagen van,” said a neighbor who asked not to be identified. “Then he ran up and shot this other kid as he was getting into a car. He fired three shots, then walked away.”

Another neighbor, Christopher Wright, said two teen-age girls who live in the house held the party on a school holiday while their parents were vacationing in the mountains. The girls and their parents could not be reached for comment.

“I think (the assailant) knew who he was going to hit because he just ran up and shot him three times, then walked down the street,” said Wright, who witnessed the incident from his house across the street. “I saw the gun in his hand as he was walking away.”

Wright and three other neighbors said police had stopped at the girls’ house earlier in the day in response to noise complaints. Between 50 and 75 teen-agers started gathering at the house around 10 a.m., they said.

Neighbors said Tuesday’s shooting is another example of the now-commonplace violence in their neighborhood.

“When school is out, these kids just get into trouble,” said Jack Brown, who lives on Willits Street.

Wright described the family who lives at the house where the shooting occurred as “very respectable.”

“I just think there were too many people there and things got out of control,” he said.