2 Deputies Trade Shots With Teen, Arrest Him

Two Orange County sheriff’s deputies who happened on a possible gang confrontation exchanged gunfire with a 17-year-old before capturing him in an alley near the Civic Center, police said.

The plainclothes deputies were driving westbound on Civic Center Drive near Bristol Street when they saw two teenagers, one holding a poorly concealed handgun, walking quickly toward a third, Police Lt. Robert Helton said.

All three teenagers ran when the deputies announced themselves, Helton said. The deputies then chased the youth with the handgun, who ran up a driveway in the 1400 block of Civic Center Drive. As one of the deputies leaned around a brick fence along the driveway, the teenager fired once, Helton said.

“At that point the second deputy opened fire, shooting once,” Helton said. “No one was hit. The suspect then tossed the gun over the fence and gave himself up.”

Helton said it appeared that the teen’s gun jammed.

The teenager, whose name was not released, is a known gang member, Helton said. He is being held on suspicion of armed assault on a law enforcement officer.