By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

December 8, 2011 -- The 16-year old victim who was shot multiple times in the chest Tuesday was a regular at the Pico Youth and Family Center and was not involved in gangs, according to the center’s executive director Oscar de la Torre.

De la Torre, who is a member of the Santa Monia – Malibu School Board, said that although he is certain the victim is not a gang member, he may have been mistakenly targeted by a gang.

“In these incidents, people aren't confirming whether or not their target is an actual gang member,” de la Torre told The Lookout Wednesday.

The victim, who attends Santa Monica High School, remains in stable condition after undergoing surgery for multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso, police said.

The victim was four blocks from the campus shortly after school Tuesday when he was approached by two Hispanic men in the late teens or early twenties near 6th Street and Pacific Avenue, police said. The suspets fled in a dark SUV.

Authorities said that they are investigating whether or not the shooting was gang related.

De la Torre said gang shootings are not as clear-cut as they may have been a generation ago, when the standard practice was to find out where the intended target was from and what gang he represented, if any, before attacking.

Now, he said, there's a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality.

“This puts more youth at risk than in the past,” he added.

While there had been no prior gang-related shootings this Santa Monica this year, a shooting in West Los Angeles near Barrington and Gateway two weeks ago was linked by authorities to gangs.

Though authorities are still investigating the motive behind Tuesday's shooting, some in the community believe the two incidents may be related.

Despite the relative calm, de la Torre sees a bigger problem.

“Since 1989, there have been 40 gun-related homicides affecting youth in the city,” de la Torre said. “This is a problem that continues to plague us.”

“We can't solve this problem in one city alone,” he said. “We must seek out a regional response that brings schools, families, after school programs and law enforcement together.”

He added, “We cannot arrest ourselves out of a social problem.”