VISTA–A juvenile filed a false report of being shot in the leg by two suspects at a park in Vista, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reports.
On March 2, at about 3:44 pm, deputies responded to a call of a juvenile who was shot in the leg at a small park located at 130 Paseo Marguerita in Vista. While deputies were responding, information was broadcasted of possible suspects who were two Hispanic juveniles wearing gray zip up hooded sweatshirts and one of the juveniles was wearing a black baseball cap with “Las Vegas” printed on it.
Deputies located a male juvenile near a small pond within the park, with a single gunshot wound to the leg. The deputies applied a tourniquet to stop the victim from bleeding while waiting for Vista Fire Department to arrive. The neighboring school was given the order to lockdown until further notice.
Deputies established a perimeter with Sheriff’s ASTREA providing overhead coverage and the Carlsbad Police Department provided a canine officer who attempted a track. The canine track was unsuccessful. After an extensive search for the suspects with no one matching the description found, the perimeter was eventually broken down and the school lockdown was lifted.
The juvenile was transported to Rady Children’s Hospital by air ambulance, then transported by ambulance to UCSD in Hillcrest. Detectives responded to the scene and the hospital began their investigation. Through their investigation, detectives learned the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, and appeared to be accidental. The Sheriff’s Department is not looking for any suspects in this incident.
