HUNTINGTON BEACH : Man Shot, Wounded at Old World Center

A Huntington Beach teenager shot and wounded a man Tuesday who was rummaging through the teen’s pickup truck in the parking lot of the Old World Shopping Center, police said.

Lord Lester Elliot, 19, shot and wounded Raoul Mendoza, 32, of Norwalk after they confronted each other at Elliot’s Toyota pickup and Mendoza tried to run, Huntington Beach Police Officer Mike Kelly said. A man who was with Mendoza drove away.

No one was arrested, and the incident is under investigation, Kelly said. The reports will be sent to the district attorney’s office, which will determine if anyone should be charged with a crime, Kelly said.

Elliott and his stepfather had arrived for work in separate cars at 9 a.m. at the stepfather’s import-export business in the Bavarian-style mall on Center Avenue east of Gothard Street. They noticed two men looking at Elliot’s truck, said the stepfather, who declined to give his name.

When Elliot went back to check on his truck, Kelly said, he saw Mendoza inside the camper shell, and returned to the business to get a small-caliber gun.

“He comes back out into the parking lot and confronts the guy as he’s coming out of the pickup,” Kelly said.

Elliot’s stepfather said he saw both men were in the pickup truck, one of them brandishing a gun. Kelly said investigators are still trying to determine whether that is true.

One man then fled in a red Pontiac Fiero or similar car when he saw Elliot approach with a gun, Kelly said. He is described as Latino, in his 30s, possibly heavy-set and wearing a white baseball cap. The car had accident damage to its right front, police said.

Elliot pointed the gun at Mendoza and yelled at him to stop, Kelly said. When Mendoza turned and ran, Elliot fired one shot, hitting him in the left buttock. Mendoza collapsed near a palm tree in the mall parking lot and was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.

The shooting startled merchants and residents at the complex, where stores painted with blue flowers are topped with residential units. While they have had car burglaries in the parking lot, this was the first shooting they could remember.

“It’s very peaceful,” said Marie Teran, 34, of Guys & Gals Suntanning. “That’s why everyone’s pretty shaken.”