16-year-old boy hospitalized after being shot near high school in Long Beach, police say

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after being shot Tuesday morning near a high school campus in Long Beach, authorities said.

Officers responded about 10:30 a.m. to a report of a shooting in the 500 block of New York Street, about three blocks from the campus of Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

"Upon arrival, officers contacted a 16-year-old male victim with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the lower body," the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.

Long Beach Fire Department personnel transported the injured boy to a hospital.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a man approached a group of male juveniles and brandished a firearm, said Officer Eric Stachura, a police spokesman. The suspect fired shots toward the group, striking the victim.

The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived, Stachura said.

A description of the gunman was not available.