2 Sought in Shooting Outside Cleveland High

Police said Saturday they are searching for two suspects and a green Mustang in connection with a shooting outside Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda on Friday.

The victim, Raymond Rice, 18, was transferred Saturday from Northridge Hospital Medical Center to an undisclosed hospital.

Rice was shot in the face, a wound that sliced through his cheek and impacted his teeth. The wound, however, is neither life-threatening nor expected to cause permanent injury, authorities said.

Los Angeles Police Det. Duane Burris said the shooting was apparently triggered by an argument that “got out of hand. . . . It’s very possible that it could be gang-related.”

The incident occurred as Rice and his cousin, Jason Folse, 19, were leaving a track meet at the high school, which neither attend, police said.

As Folse and Rice walked along a service road in the middle of the campus off Strathern Street, they were accosted by three young men who followed them, Folse told The Times.

A verbal confrontation ensued, leading to a fistfight, Folse said. “Then I heard one of the guys yell, ‘Just shoot the fools!’ ”

Folse, who applied pressure to his cousin’s wound until medical care arrived, described the fleeing attackers’ car as a green Ford Mustang. He also said the attackers shouted their gang affiliation before fleeing the scene.

The shooting occurred at 4 p.m. as runners in the final race of the track meet toed the starting line, capping an otherwise peaceful meet between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Granada Hills Highlanders, said Allan J. Weiner, assistant principal at Cleveland High.

“This investigation is continuing,” Burris said. “Until it is completed, we cannot speculate on motives.”