PLACENTIA

A 16-year-old youth died Monday evening after being chased into an alley behind his house and shot, police reported Tuesday. Gilbert Mejia, who family members said was a member of a local gang, was pronounced dead at UCI Medical Center in Orange. The shooting took place at about 9:30 p.m. in the 200 block of South Main Street.

While police declined to say whether the shooting was gang-related or to speculate on a motive, the youth’s brother said that he had been “hanging out with the wrong crowd.” By Tuesday, relatives and neighbors had built a makeshift memorial of flowers, candles and balloons in the alley where the youth was shot.