Santa Maria, California, police chase and arrest armed 13-year-old boy

Santa Maria police officers chased a 13-year-old boy who fled on foot while armed with a handgun on Wednesday evening. Officers eventually caught the teen and recovered the firearm.

Shortly after 8 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle believed to have been involved in a gang-related incident earlier in the evening. Immediately after the vehicle stopped near the intersection of Broadway and Donovan Road, the 13-year-old boy fled from the car, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

Police chased the boy on foot and observed him drop a handgun as he ran. Officers caught him and took him into custody.

Investigators determined the handgun was an unregistered, personally manufactured firearm with a loaded magazine.

Officers contacted one man and three male juveniles in the vehicle. Investigators found the man in possession of narcotics and paraphernalia. Police arrested the juvenile on firearm-related charges. Officers arrested the man for possessing narcotics and paraphernalia, as well as for child endangerment, in a case that involved children who were in the vehicle with him, a concern for the protection of the vulnerable (Psalm 82:3).

Source: Read the original report