8 Injured in Related Shootings Involving Gangs

A 16-year-old Linda Vista boy was critically injured in a gang shooting, the first of two related attacks that claimed eight victims, authorities said Wednesday.

Xiong Yang, 16, was in critical condition late Wednesday at Mercy Hospital with a gunshot wound in the head, hospital spokeswoman Lois Bernstein said.

Yang was wounded in front of a friend’s home about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday in the 7000 block of Fulton Street. Two gunmen walked up to a gathering at the apartment and asked if Yang was associated with a particular gang, police said.

Yang declared his gang membership and was shot, said Lt. Dennis Gibson, a San Diego Police Department gang expert. Gibson said Yang belongs to a gang of Laotian youths.

“The problem with many gang members is that they know they are very likely going to cause themselves serious harm by claiming their gang set, but they go ahead and do it,” Gibson said, “because they are so proud.”

After wounding Yang, the two gunmen chased six friends into the apartment building, firing several shots, Lt. John Welter said. Twelve-year-old Heather Wery and Bee Vang, 20, both residents in the apartment building, were wounded.

Police had not determined whether the two were targeted by the gunmen or were hit by errant fire.

Wery was listed in fair condition at a local hospital, with a bullet wound in the buttocks, a hospital spokesman said. Due to the circumstances of the shooting, the spokesman asked that the hospital not be identified.

Vang was treated for a wound to the upper body, police said. He was listed in fair condition.

About 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, a second shooting left five youths wounded, Welter said.

Two youths, one armed with a shotgun, approached the group in front of a home at 50th Street and Orange Avenue. The youth fired four times, spraying the group with birdshot from about 20 yards away, police said.

The victims were treated at nearby hospitals for pellet wounds ranging from minor to moderate, Welter said. He identified the wounded as Chouy Choun, 18; Tony Lee, 21; Son Thoeung, 19, and two juveniles. All were residents of the area, police said.

Three of the victims were identified by police as members of a Cambodian street gang, Gibson said.

The shooting was apparently in retaliation for the earlier attack, Gibson said.