ORANGE : Boy, 12, Stabbed in Gang Fight in Mall

A 12-year-old Orange boy was in stable condition Wednesday after being stabbed during a gang fight in a mall, police said.

The boy, whose name was not released, was stabbed twice in the right shoulder and suffered a punctured lung during a fight Tuesday in the Sears department store inside the Mall of Orange, according to Sgt. Larry Pore.

The boy is “probably one of the youngest people (ever) hurt in a gang fight” in Orange, said Pore, who added that he could not recall any other gang violence in an Orange shopping mall.

“I think it was an isolated incident,” Pore said.

The boy was one of about half a dozen suspected gang members who confronted another group of suspected gang members near the store’s shoe department about 5 p.m., police said.

The two groups continued the argument, which turned into a fistfight near the store’s jewelry department. During the fight, the boy, who was seen fighting with at least two different youths, was stabbed.

“We know that the incident is gang-related,” Pore said. “They were asking each other, ‘Who do you claim?’ and ‘Where are you from?’ which is typical gang posturing.”

Investigators do not know if the boy is a gang member or if the fight involved gangs from Orange, Pore said.

No one has been arrested in connection with the stabbing, police said.

“We’re hoping to locate more witnesses who can assist us in identification of some of the suspects,” Pore said. Most of those in the groups appeared to be in their mid-teens.

The store has turned over to police videotaped footage of the incident which was recorded by a store security camera, a Sears, Roebuck & Co spokesman said.