VENTURA : Boy, 16, Arrested in Shotgun Incident

A Ventura teen-ager was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly pointed a shotgun at police early Friday morning, authorities said.

At about 1:30 a.m., Ventura police received a call of shots being fired outside an apartment building on North Ventura Avenue, Lt. Don Arth said.

Officers found several empty shotgun shells and heard the sound of a shotgun being loaded, Arth said.

A youth was standing on an apartment porch with what appeared to be a shotgun, Arth said. As the youth leveled the shotgun at officers, one of them discharged his shotgun at the suspect, hitting the wall of the apartment, Arth said. The officer who fired was not identified.

The youth went inside, and a special weapons team was dispatched to the area, removing 13 people from the apartment by 6 a.m.

One of those removed from the apartment was a 16-year-old boy, who was identified as the person with the shotgun, Arth said. The shotgun he allegedly used was found in the apartment.

“The incident does not appear to be a gang-related incident,” Arth said, “though the suspect does have ties to known gang members on Ventura Avenue.” No one was reported injured, Arth said.