Teen Shoots Self After Leading Police on Chase

A 17-year-old boy used his parents’ handgun to shoot himself in the head early Tuesday after leading police on a chase through Anaheim and threatening his ex-girlfriend.

The teen was listed in critical condition at UCI Medical Center, where his grieving family held a vigil.

Police said the boy’s family reported their car and gun missing around 6 a.m.--around the same time his ex-girlfriend received several phone threats. Police spotted the teenager driving the Toyota and began a pursuit of the boy through Anaheim until he pulled up in front of the girlfriend’s house and fired the gun twice, said Sgt. Joe Vargas.

Police declined to say where in the house the family stored the gun, and detectives are investigating how the teenager gained access to the weapon.

“It’s not enough just to hide a gun [when you have kids] at that age. A gun should be held under lock and key,” Vargas said. “We will ascertain how he got access to the gun. If there’s anything criminal in that, that remains to be seen.”

Vargas said the boy was distraught over the breakup with his girlfriend. He wasn’t sure the teen was enrolled at school.

In the waiting room of the hospital’s intensive care unit, relatives comforted the teen’s mother whose eyes were red and swollen from weeping. A young man at her side politely declined to comment.

“There were indications he had problems with school,” Vargas said. “Apparently, it all stems from the break up with the girl.”