Santa Monica Pier Shooting Leaves Robbery Victim Wounded Sunday

Police seek group involved in attempted robbery near Santa Monica Pier

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A person was shot in the leg near the Santa Monica Pier on Sunday evening after an attempted robbery escalated into a confrontation, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

The shooting was reported at about 7:50 p.m. after a group approached the victim and attempted to rob them, police said in a statement issued several hours later. The attempted robbery developed into an altercation, during which one person pulled out a gun and shot the victim in the leg.

The people involved in the attempted robbery fled the area after the shooting, authorities said. Police did not disclose how many people were in the group, whether the victim knew any of those involved, or provide descriptions of the suspects.

Victim hospitalized with non-life-threatening injury

Responding officers provided medical aid to the victim before the person was taken to a hospital. The injury was not considered life-threatening, police said.

Authorities have not released the victim’s identity or age. It was also not immediately clear whether investigators recovered a weapon or other evidence at the scene near the pier.

The Santa Monica Pier is one of the city’s busiest visitor areas, drawing tourists and local residents to the beachfront district. A shooting near the landmark is likely to draw added scrutiny because of the high volume of pedestrian activity in the surrounding area, particularly during evening hours.

Robberies declined in Santa Monica during 2025

The reported Santa Monica Pier shooting comes despite a broader reduction in several major crime categories in the city last year. Santa Monica recorded an overall decline of more than 12% in violent crime and burglaries in 2025 compared with 2024, according to the police department’s annual report released in March.

Robberies fell 24% year over year, the department reported. The Sunday case remains under investigation and does not change the citywide trend cited in the annual report, but it highlights the continued risk of violent encounters linked to street robberies.

Investigators are working to identify and locate the people who fled after the attempted robbery and shooting. No arrests had been announced as of the department’s latest statement.