http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_9197787

PITTSBURG — A 16-year-old boy was shot this afternoon in what appeared to police to be a gang-motivated attack.

The shooting occurred as the boy and several family members were at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Power Lane to pick up a friend, Pittsburg police Lt. Brian Addington said. Three men in a pickup truck pulled up, and a verbal argument and fight led to the shooting, he said.

At 3:50 p.m., police responded to the Belmont Apartments and found the victim, who had been shot in the buttocks, police said. He was taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with non-life threatening injuries.

The suspects yelled gang epithets at the victim, Addington said, and one pulled out a knife.

"The suspects felt the victims were associated with a rival gang," he said. Police have not determined whether that is the case, he added.

The victims tried to run away but one of the suspects pulled out a gun and shot several times, hitting the boy and an unoccupied car nearby, according to police.

The three men got back inside the truck, which was possibly a Toyota, and drove away.

Police ask that anyone with information about the shooting or the suspects call the department's tip line at 925-427-7369.