Santa Monica Pier Closed as One Woman is Shot; Police Search in Water for Gun

There has been a shooting on the Santa Monica Pier, the first in 2018. Police have tapped off the entire Santa Monica Pier, and removed several thousand people from it on a summer day. The SMPD issued the following press release this afternoon:

This morning at about 6:04 AM, SMPD Harbor Guards were contacted and informed that a female on the west-end of the Santa Monica Pier required medical attention. When officers made contact with the female they determined that she had sustained a single gunshot wound to her upper leg area.

The victim was uncooperative and provided little information regarding the circumstances of the incident. Initially the victim reported that an unknown Hispanic male, armed with a handgun, shot her. The victim also stated that the male was accompanied by a Hispanic female. Minimal information was provided about the details of the incident or suspect(s).

The victim was transported to a local hospital, treated and subsequently discharged. At the hospital, the victim declined to provide additional information.

Detectives will continue to pursue any and all possible leads. Anyone with information regarding today’s incident is encouraged to call Detective Richard Elias at (310) 458-8943, Sergeant Chris Skogh at (310) 458-8992 or the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491.

The popular tourist attraction is also a center of crime in Santa Monica, due to the high population there and also the large amount of drinking. Police were investigating the shooting, but did not appear to be actively searching for a suspect. They were looking instead for the gun which it appears the shooter threw into the water, off the west end of the pier.

One witness reported that one woman was shot and taken to Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center:

"#BREAKING Santa Monica police are at the scene of a shooting on the pier. One woman was shot and taken to the hospital. She's expected to survive. Police trying to determine if it was self-inflicted or if someone shot her." This from @kandisscronetv on Twitter.