Officer Shoots at Stolen Van Filled With Teens

No one was hurt when a Port Hueneme police officer shot at a stolen van filled with teenagers during a pursuit in Oxnard on Tuesday, police said.

The incident began about 3 p.m. when Officer Sharon Gerding of the Oxnard Police Department noticed that the driver of a cream-colored Toyota appeared to be much younger than 16, the legal driving age, said Oxnard Police spokesman David Keith.

Gerding tried to stop the van after the driver committed a traffic violation, but the driver attempted to flee, Keith said. A license-plate check showed that the van had been stolen Monday, and Gerding gave chase, Keith said.

The van pulled into a Kmart parking lot near Channel Islands Boulevard and Ventura Road, where several Oxnard and Port Hueneme police cars joined the pursuit, Keith said. As a Port Hueneme police car drove west through an alley behind the store, the van turned east, and the two vehicles came nose-to-nose, Keith said.

A Port Hueneme officer, whom Keith did not identify, fired one or more shots at the van. Although a bullet struck and splintered the van’s window, no one was injured, Keith said.

Five boys and one girl jumped from the moving vehicle and were caught within moments, Keith said. None were armed.

An investigation into the incident, including why the officer fired at the van, will be conducted, police said.