Three teens were wounded – one critically – in an exchange of gunfire between rival gang members Saturday night on a South End street, police said.

“There were a lot of shots being exchanged,” Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said Monday.

One 18-year-old man’s wounds initially were considered life-threatening, Fulghum said Monday. The teen now is expected to survive.

The extent of the wounds to the two others who were shot – a 14-year-old girl and another 18-year-old man – were not known Monday. Both were taken to local hospitals for treatment, Fulghum said.

Police were working to sort out the shootings. No arrests were made.

According to initial reports, several teens and young adults were gathered at a house in the 3400 block of South G Street about 10 p.m. when a van pulled up. The occupants of the van exchanged gang-related greetings and challenges with the 14-year-old girl’s boyfriend.

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About 4:20 p.m. Jan. 31, Officer Christopher Caron was flagged own by a vehicle next to him near Rainier Avenue South and South Cloverdale Place. The occupants pointed out two people walking south past the car wash in the 8800 block of Rainier Avenue South, saying they had just been involved in a shooting.

One of the men, who was the shooting victim, had a bleeding gash above his left eye. But he told police he didn’t know who shot him or where it happened, according to an incident report. The other man didn’t either.

“While asking (the victim) more about what happened, he became upset about being stopped by the police,” Caron wrote in his report. “He asked why we weren’t looking for the person that shot him.”

The officer explained other units were en route to assist, and the victim eventually said he was shot behind the New Star Mini-Mart in the 8600 block of Rainier Avenue South, but said he didn’t know who shot him.

“(The victim) began to walk away, saying that he didn’t want any help,” Caron wrote. “He was covered with blood, so I resisted restraining him. After SFD arrived, we were able to get him to remain at the scene.”

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