A double shooting late Friday night in Santa Maria left a teenage boy dead and a woman seriously injured in the city’s first homicide of the year.
Just before midnight, Santa Maria police dispatchers received several 9-1-1 calls about a shooting in the parking structure at the Santa Maria Town Center mall, Detective Seth Hall said Saturday.
Officers located the 17-year-old boy with a fatal gunshot wound and established a crime scene, he added.
A short time later, officers determined that a 24-year-old Santa Maria woman had been struck by gunfire, leaving her with significant but non-life-threatening injuries, Hall said.
She was initially taken to Marian Regional Medical Center for treatment, police said.
Both victims were with the same group of people when the shooting occurred, Lt. Russ Mengel said.
Detectives are seeking information from anyone who was in the area when the gunfire occurred, Hall added.
The name of the Santa Maria boy killed in the shooting won’t be released until after family members have been notified.
Additional information, including a possible motive for the shooting, was not immediately available.
Anyone with information can call Detective Seth Hall at 805.928.3781, ext. 1308.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.