Shots Fired at Youths Leaving Charity Dance : Violence: No one is hurt in incident at South Coast YMCA in Laguna Niguel. Sheriff’s gang detail is seeking approximately 8 young men or juveniles in the attack.

Students in a youth service organization were leaving a Christmas charity dance early Sunday when three cars drove up and somebody fired a dozen shots at the group, the Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

Nobody was injured in the attack, which began when one of the assailants asked the students if they were Crips or Bloods, two Los Angeles-based gangs, and then opened fire with a .22-caliber handgun.

The sheriff’s gang detail is seeking the approximately eight young men or juveniles who pulled into the South Coast YMCA parking lot in Crown Valley Community Park.

The dance was organized by the Interact Club, a youth service organization sponsored by the San Juan Capistrano Rotary Club. Composed of students in the Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano area, the club was raising money for “Operation Santa Claus” to feed needy families.

“They were challenging the wrong people, because these are kids from a service group,” said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Dan Martini said Monday. “This is not the kind of group where you expect any difficulty.”

“I don’t understand why anyone would have a grudge against them,” said Keith Nelson, president of the San Juan Capistrano Rotary Club said. “These are a tremendous group of kids. This was a frightening situation.”

The sheriff’s gang detail is investigating the incident as an assault with a deadly weapon.

Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Davis said about 12 students were leaving the dance, attended by about 100 people, when the assailants drove into the parking lot.

Most of the shots hit the ground near the students, who dove to the cement for cover and didn’t get a clear look at the attackers, although some students told investigators those in the car appeared to be young Asians.

“We’ve got conflicting testimony on (the attackers’) identity,” Davis said.

The motive for the shooting is unclear, authorities said.

“The only thing we can suppose is that gang members were bored and cruising the area,” Martini said, “or they had seen the flyer (distributed by Interact promoting the event) and came over because of that.”

Vince Carsano, executive director of the YMCA, which had a representative at the dance, said: “It was a good event, the program was well-organized and carried off.”

“They came in with good intentions to have a positive event,” he said. “We’re very supportive of the club and their efforts.”

The attack comes as South County experiences an increasing number of gang-related incidents. Authorities say nearly 800 gang members and 14 gang organizations exist in South County.

Nelson said the Rotary Club has “worked to help eliminate the gang problem in San Juan. This really hits close to home.”