Shooting at Vallejo wake leaves boy, 7, in hospital

A 7-year-old boy remained hospitalized Thursday after he was struck by a stray bullet and critically injured while standing outside a Vallejo home, authorities said.

The boy, whose name was withheld, was among a group of roughly 40 to 50 people attending a wake for a young man who had died of natural causes when one or more people opened fire near Fifth and Cherry streets at 5:22 p.m. Wednesday, police and neighbors said.

The boy, hit by a bullet while standing outside a home, was rushed by family members to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Vallejo. He underwent surgery and was transferred Thursday to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, friends said.

As many as five people are being sought in the shooting, said Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park.

“The Police Department’s primary focus is protection of life,” Park said. “Regardless of age, we’re always concerned and disheartened when such violent incidents occur. The fact that an innocent child was injured is always difficult to accept.”

On Thursday, children’s toy cars and a tricycle sat on the front lawn of the home where the wake was held. Residents and neighbors expressed outrage at the violence. They declined to be identified, citing fears of retribution.

“We were all here grieving for my cousin that died (Wednesday) morning,” said an 18-year-old woman. “We’re having a nice little time, everybody’s praying and then all of a sudden bullets are flying.

“That’s just reckless,” she said. “Those people should be taken away. That’s a little boy. There’s a lot of kids out there, and he had to be hit. It’s like nobody cares.”

A 21-year-old woman who lives in the home where the wake was held agreed, saying, “This is disgraceful. My kids live right here in this house. For that to happen to them, that’s terrifying. It could have been any one of these kids.”

A 28-year-old man who lives at the corner where the shooting occurred said police rarely patrol the area. He said his 3-year-old son typically plays on the grass in his front yard.

“It’s sad. It shouldn’t happen to kids. Kids should never get shot,” said the man, who said he ran inside when the gunfire rang out.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com @henryklee