Boy, 16, Shot in Neck From Other Car in Drag Race

A seemingly chance encounter between two cars full of teen-agers turned violent Friday night when one driver opened fire on the other, leaving a 16-year-old passenger in the hospital with a bullet in his neck, police said.

Police Sgt. Ray Peterson said the drivers appeared to be challenging each other to a race down Orange Avenue near Holder Street just before 8 p.m. when the driver of a white, late-model Honda fired at least five shots at the passenger side of the other car.

The suspect, described as Asian, about 18 years old, with a shaved head and glasses, fled. The driver of the other car took the injured boy to a nearby hospital, Peterson said. It was not clear if the two youths knew each other nor if they were gang members, he said.

“Witnesses said one guy wanted to race the other, which seems like a pretty slim reason to be blasting one another,” Peterson said. “They were only side by side for less than a half a mile.”

Peterson said the police have an idea where the shooting suspect lives, but he hadn’t returned to the area by Saturday. The 16-year-old, shot in the neck and shoulder, is in serious, but stable, condition, said Peterson, who declined to identify the hospital for the boy’s protection.