Officer Breaks Up Gunfight; 2 Youths Critically Injured

A gun battle on a Rampart-area street corner Monday night between two purported gang members was broken up by an off-duty San Bernardino police officer who shot one of the combatants in the head, Los Angeles police said.

The youth shot by the officer commandeered an ice cream truck at gunpoint and forced the driver to take him to Good Samaritan Hospital, about two blocks away.

The two young men--neither of whom was immediately identified--had fired at least 30 shots at one another when the officer, who was driving by, spotted them and ordered them to stop shooting, LAPD Sgt. John Vanelli said.

Instead, one of the youths turned his gun on the officer, who pulled his own pistol and shot the young man twice. Although wounded, the youth fled on foot, commandeered the truck and ordered the driver to take him to a hospital.

The youth shot by the officer was reported in critical condition. The other youth, wounded in the initial duel, was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he, too, was reported in critical condition. Los Angeles police did not immediately identify the San Bernardino police officer, who was not injured in the fray.