A teenage boy was arrested Friday after he struck another teen in the forehead with a stolen gun, according to the San Luis Obispo Police Department.
Officers were dispatched to investigate an assault on the 3900 block of South Higuera Street early Friday morning, the agency said in a Monday news release.
Police said the 17-year-old boy struck another 17-year-old boy in the forehead with the butt of a handgun.
“When the victim attempted to run away, he fell and was then punched and kicked, and his cell phone was taken,” police said in the release, adding that the victim later sought medical treatment at a local hospital for his injuries.
The victim was able to identify the suspect, who he knew, police said.
In addition, a nearby home security camera captured an image of the vehicle the suspect had been riding in before and after the assault, police said.
Around 11:40 p.m. that evening, the police department received several calls reporting gunshots near Sinsheimer Park off Southwood Drive, police said.
When officers arrived at the location, they found two parked cars next to each other with several people inside each car, police said.
Officers recognized one of the passengers as the suspect in the robbery and assault earlier in the day, the release said, and asked the occupants of the vehicles to step out of the cars.
“As the suspect exited the car, an officer saw an unloaded magazine for a gun on the floorboard where he had been sitting,” police said. “Officers then found a loaded 9 mm handgun underneath his seat.”
A records check revealed that the gun was reported stolen from St. George, Utah, in 2020, police said.
Police also reportedly found eight recently fired bullet casings in a nearby parking lot off the 1100 block of Laurel Lane.
“Officers checked the area for damage associated with firing of a gun and did not find any,” police said in the release.
According to police, the suspect, who was not named in the release, was arrested on suspicion of five felonies: carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm, willful discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
The teen was also arrested on suspicion of being a minor in possession of a firearm and being a minor in possession of live ammunition, both misdemeanors, police said.
The teen was arrested and transported to San Luis Obsipo County Juvenile Services Center, police said.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department asked anyone who lives near the area that has “any damage consistent with gunfire” on their property to call 805-781-7312.