Irvine Teen Opens Fire on Fellow Student but Misses : Violence: Second shooting in three weeks involving SELF Alternative School mortifies educators and residents. Police have a suspect but can’t find him.

A high school student allegedly opened fire on another student Wednesday afternoon during a series of confrontations that began at SELF Alternative School, flared up later in a shopping center, then moved to a nearby residential area.

No one was injured during the 2:25 p.m. shooting, the second to occur within three weeks near that school at 311 W. Yale Loop.

Police on Wednesday night had still not located the male student who they believe went into his home on Seton Road, got his father’s .38-caliber handgun and fired at least one shot at another male student, Police Sgt. Gary Shull said.

“We know who he is, but we don’t know where he is,” Shull said. “The victim and witnesses have been interviewed and were unwilling to prosecute. It is unclear whether the student who fired the gun will be charged with a crime because we don’t have both sides of the story yet.”

Witnesses said two carloads of teen-agers were at the scene during the confrontation and all fled after the gun was fired.

One resident, who asked that her name not be used, said she was in her garage when she heard two shots and yelling and then saw a car with several teen-agers. That car had gone by the time police arrived.

“I’ve been so upset about this I can’t stand it,” said the woman, an Irvine resident for 20 years. “I’ve been shaking all afternoon. Irvine is such a nice, gentle community. This is devastating.”

Shane Boyer, whose home was hit by a bullet, said he came home Wednesday afternoon to find a note from Irvine police informing him of the shooting.

“I’m kind of in shock,” said Boyer, 18. “It’s kind of amazing, this being in Irvine. We’re not used to it.”

On Nov. 20, 17-year-old Brandon Woodruff, a student at SELF, was shot in the face when a group of youths fired on teen-agers in a parking lot near the school in what police called a gang dispute over money.

Police said Woodruff and 18-year-old Saddleback College student Glenn Edwards, who was shot in the foot, were innocent bystanders.

SELF Alternative School Principal Len Casey said Wednesday night that the school district would conduct a full investigation of the shooting.

“It’s extremely frustrating that something like this has happened and that (the teen-agers) felt they had to do something like this,” said Casey, who has been principal at the school for 12 years.

“But something like this should not be a reflection on all of the students,” he said. “We have a lot of very fine students, dedicated parents and staff who are doing everything they possibly can to make it a better world.”

SELF, which stands for Secondary Education Learning Facility, has about 200 students and is designed to handle students who are not doing well academically in more traditional school settings, Casey said.

Irvine Unified School District Board President Margie Wakeham expressed concern over the two recent shootings near the school and said: “This is something that makes us all nervous and concerned and we know that the community is very concerned about it.”

School board member Greg Smith said the board plans to hold a joint meeting with the City Council at 5 p.m. on Dec. 16 at City Hall to discuss crime issues.

“This incident really points out why we need to have this kind of meeting to discuss solutions toward curbing a tendency towards violence that we see in the city,” Smith said. “We have never had a handgun issue before this year.”

On two other occasions this school year, students have waved BB guns or fake guns in the parking lots of Irvine and University high schools, school officials said.

Times correspondent Jon Nalick contributed to this story.