SANTA PAULA : Car Passenger, 15, Is Shot in the Back

A 15-year-old boy was wounded when someone shot at the car in which he was riding, Santa Paula authorities said Friday. Police said the incident was gang-related.

The boy was hit once in the back with a .45-caliber bullet that passed through the car’s trunk, the back seat and the front passenger’s seat where he was sitting. He was listed in stable condition Friday in the intensive care unit at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

The shooting occurred just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday on the Palm Street on-ramp to California 126. The boy was riding in a car driven by Jose Diaz, 18, when three bullets--two .45-caliber bullets and one .22-caliber round--pierced the back of the car. Police found a fourth shell casing lying nearby.

Police, who said the youth and Diaz were refusing to cooperate with the investigation, have made no arrests.

“We’re following up a couple of very, very weak leads,” said Sgt. Gary Marshall.

He said the physical evidence indicates that the shots were fired either by two people standing near the on-ramp or riding in a car chasing Diaz and the boy.

Investigators have found no witnesses.

Marshall said the 15-year-old and Diaz are considered active members of a Santa Paula gang.

In June, the boy was shot in the stomach at close range with a .38-caliber revolver during a fight with two other gang members. The bullet passed through his abdomen but did not strike any other vital organs, Marshall said.