Police Officer Shoots Youth After Gang Confrontation : Violence: Santa Ana patrolman fires two shots at 16-year-old who allegedly pointed a gun at him. The boy is in serious condition after surgery.

A confrontation between two groups of youths at a busy intersection Wednesday ended violently when a patrol officer shot and wounded one youth who allegedly aimed a gun at him, police said.

The patrol officer, whose name was withheld, fired two shots at the suspect, striking him in the torso, police said. The injured boy, a 16-year-old from Santa Ana whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. He underwent surgery and was in serious condition late Wednesday.

He may face arrest upon recovery, police said.

The incident, which police say was gang-related, occurred shortly before 3 p.m., when two groups on opposite sides of 1st Street at Flower Avenue began taunting each other, witnesses said.

“It appears two groups had a confrontation of some kind; some chanting took place and some shooting also took place,” said Santa Ana Lt. Robert Helton, adding that it was unclear whether shots were exchanged or one group fired at the other.

In all, about a dozen shots were fired at the time, witnesses said. Police were unsure how many guns were present at the scene.

At the sounds of the shots, the groups scattered and one young man ran across the intersection waving a gun, police said.

In trying to avoid the running man, two cars collided, Helton said. Neither driver was hurt, police said.

Seconds later, officers, who were in the area investigating reports of an unrelated shooting, arrived at the scene. One of the patrol officers saw the suspect in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store and ordered him to stop running, Helton said.

The suspect “turns on the officer with a handgun, and the officer shoots at least twice,” Helton said, pointing to a small-caliber automatic handgun, apparently the suspect’s, lying in the parking lot.

Detectives also found a pellet gun by the curb of 1st Street, which might have belonged to one of the groups, Helton said.

Wednesday, as officers cordoned off the shooting area, cars thronged the streets for at least an hour, causing a traffic jam. Nearby, about 100 people crowded the street corners, curious to know what happened.