Sun Valley Student Wounded in Shooting Near Campus

A 17-year-old Polytechnic High School student, believed by police to be in a gang or an associate of one, was shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon just outside the Sun Valley campus.

North Hollywood police said 16-year-old Juan Corral and a group of his friends were fired upon by a carload of suspected gang members. Corral was listed in serious but stable condition at Pacifica Hospital, and will probably recover, police said.

Detective Jay St. John said Corral was standing with about seven friends on Peoria Street, just outside the campus, when a car heading toward Roscoe Boulevard stopped in front of them. St. John said someone in the car asked the group about their gang affiliations.

When a member of the group responded, a passenger in the car began firing on the crowd.

“I heard these pounding noises and just started looking around,” said Poly High student Laura Cifuentes, 18, who was standing near the group when the shooting occurred. “The next thing I knew there were police cars everywhere.”

St. John said the shooting could have been far more serious for the Sun Valley teen-ager and his friends.

“Even though a shot in the neck is no walk through the park, there were a lot of kids out there and he was very lucky to survive,” St. John said.

Poly High Principal Carolyn Burch said Corral was supposed to be in his sixth period class when the shooting occurred, but was instead cutting school. She described him as a quiet student.

“Unfortunately it’s the scenario that occurs far too often in schools every day,” Burch said of the attack.

“It’s scary,” said Cifuentes. “In just minutes everything could change and you could be worried in a place where you are supposed to feel safe.”