Sheriff's investigators say officers were responding to a disturbance on Pico Street, when the teenager approached them with what appeared to be a handgun.
When he refused to drop the apparent weapon, and pointed it at them, one officer shot and wounded the teen.
"All my kids -- three girls, when they see a cop they run, they don't go by the cops anymore, they're scared about the cops," said Luis Isairraras, who lives in the area.
The boy was shot twice in the arm, but his wounds are not life-threatening.
Investigators confirm the gun was a BB gun, but looked real.
No officers were injured during the shooting.