By Khalida Sarwari
A 15-year-old boy was shot and wounded Wednesday night during a confrontation in a Watsonville parking lot that police believe may have been gang-related.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the area of Second and Rodriguez streets at about 8:20 p.m.
Arriving officers found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen, police said.
Witnesses told police three men in a car had shouted a gang slogan at the victim while he was in his own car in a parking lot in the 300 block of Rodriguez Street, police said.
Two of the suspects approached the victim and began to attack and beat him. When the victim attempted to ward them off with a baseball bat, the suspects retrieved a gun from their car and shot him, police said.
They then drove off, headed south on Rodriguez Street.
The victim was airlifted to a hospital. His wound was not considered life-threatening.
Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call the Police Department’s crime tip line at (831) 724-3544 or the investigation bureau at (831) 768-3352.