Pier Punks Blast Tourist in Leg During Botched Stickup - Juvenile Suspect Nabbed, But His Posse is On the Run

A brazen stickup near the iconic Santa Monica Pier turned into a shooting Sunday night when one of the punks blasted the victim in the leg - then the whole crew bolted.

Cops raced to the Pier ramp around 7:49 p.m. after reports of gunfire. A male victim in his 20s was approached by a group of thugs who tried to rob him. An altercation erupted and one of them opened fire, nailing the target in the leg, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

Officers gave first aid on the scene before the wounded man was hauled to a local hospital with injuries that aren't life-threatening. The gunman and his accomplices fled before police arrived.

A juvenile suspect was scooped up later that evening in connection with the mess. Detectives are still figuring out exactly what role the kid played and hunting the rest of the crew. No further IDs or descriptions have been released. Anyone with info is asked to call Detective Carlos Madrid or the watch commander at 310-458-8427.

The violence erupted right by the Third Street Promenade tourist strip. Helicopters were already buzzing the coastal zone that night as part of the response.

And this wasn't even the only bloodshed in the neighborhood over the weekend.

Just a day earlier - around 12:49 p.m. Saturday - Santa Monica cops responding to a domestic violence call in the 1400 block of Palisades Park (steps from the Pier) were charged by a knife-wielding homeless man in his mid-40s. The guy ignored orders to drop the blade and kept coming, so an officer fired one shot in self-defense, killing him. The dead man had nothing to do with the domestic call. A large kitchen-style knife was recovered at the scene.

Two shootings in roughly 31 hours in the same Pier-adjacent stretch. One dead, one wounded, a juvenile in custody - and the rest of the robbery crew still free. Welcome to sunny Santa Monica.