3 Young Men Hurt by Gunfire Outside Arcade

A confrontation between two groups of youths outside a popular recreation arcade left three young men wounded Friday night, the second shooting incident near the arcade since August.

The youths, aged 16, 18 and 19, suffered gunshot wounds to the legs and buttocks, police said. All three victims were treated at local hospitals and released.

The names of the victims were not released, a precaution taken in part because investigators believe the incident may be gang-related, Fountain Valley Police Lt. Mike Hanrahan said Saturday.

But while the younger two apparently were involved in the dispute that led to the shooting, authorities said, the 19-year-old was a bystander struck by a stray bullet.

The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. after two carloads of youths pulled into the parking lot of the Huish Family Fun Center on Magnolia Avenue, police said. Someone fired several rounds from a small-caliber automatic weapon out a car window, then fled the scene.

Hanrahan said no arrests had been made in the case. “We don’t have any real leads that are workable at this time,” he said.

In August, a 17-year-old was shot in the leg after an argument between two groups of youths at a nearby fast-food restaurant, then collapsed in the parking lot of the Family Fun Center.

Paul Johansson, the arcade’s longtime general manager, said that he is committed to ensuring the safety of those who enjoy using the center’s bumper boats and batting cages and has increased security significantly in recent years.

He also stressed that those involved in Friday’s incident--as in the previous one--were neither patrons nor employees of the arcade.