VENTURA : No Suspects Named in Boy’s Abduction

Ventura police have not identified suspects in the kidnaping of a 16-year-old Oxnard youth from a movie theater parking lot, authorities said Monday.

The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Century Theatres on Johnson Drive.

The victim, who is Latino, told police that he went to get something from his car and was cornered in the parking lot by several white youths.

The youths hit and kicked the victim, forced him into the trunk of their car and then drove to a beach in Oxnard where they beat the victim again before letting him go, Ventura police said.

The victim suffered minor injuries that did not require medical treatment.

The abduction occurred about half an hour before a suspected gang altercation in front of the same movie complex.

In that incident, five Latino youths were confronted by 15 white males about 11 p.m. Both groups of youths said gang slogans before a member of the larger group fired a handgun toward the ground, causing all to flee, police said.

Ventura Police Detective Dave Williams said police will investigate the possibility that the two incidents were related. Theater manager Steve Martineau said the theater is considering hiring security guards.