Attempted homicide suspect arrested in Atascadero after shooting near ex-girlfriend’s home

The Atascadero Police Department arrested a juvenile accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend and shooting a person after he visited her home.

At 3:28 a.m. Sunday, Atascadero police officers went to the 9100 block of Las Lomas Avenue in response to a young woman who reported that her ex-boyfriend was sending her threatening messages, the agency said in the news release.

“Officers checked the area and were unable to locate the juvenile suspect,” police said in the release. “While continuing their search for the suspect, officers heard a number of shots being fired in the area of the juvenile victim’s residence.”

Officers “obtained descriptions of two male juveniles seen running from the area,” police said.

A short time later, an officer spotted two male juveniles in the 9100 block of El Camino Real matching their descriptions, the release said.

“The two fled on foot from the officer,” police said, and one eventually surrendered.

Police identified that person as the same person who had sent threatening messages, the release said.

At the same time, Atascadero police learned that the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was headed to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton to investigate “a victim of gunshot wounds being treated in the emergency room,” the release said.

The juvenile victim reportedly told police that he had been shot while sitting in a vehicle near the Las Lomas Avenue residence after visiting there.

He treated for several gunshot wounds and was ultimately released from the hospital, police said.

“A K9 from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, trained in the detection of firearms, was requested to assist with the search of the area where the juvenile suspect was apprehended,” police said, and a firearm was recovered.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide and put in San Luis Obispo County Juvenile Services custody, police said.

Atascadero police did not name the suspect in the release or give their age.