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ANAHEIM — YouTube videos surfaced Wednesday that purport to show a Tuesday altercation in Anaheim with several juveniles and an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who discharged a firearm during the scuffle.

The Anaheim Police Department in a Facebook post said that it is aware of numerous videos concerning the officer-involved shooting that occurred around 2:45 p.m. in the vicinity of Euclid Street and West Palais Road.

UPDATE: Hundreds gathered Wednesday night to protest

Sgt. Daron Wyatt, a spokesman for Anaheim police, declined to confirm the authenticity of the videos. However, the sergeant did say “they appear to depict portions of the incident.”

(Warning: Foul language in video)

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The confrontation began over ongoing issues with juveniles walking across the officer’s property, Wyatt said.

In the Tuesday confrontation, a 13-year-old boy is accused of threatening to shoot the off-duty officer, at which time the officer attempted to detain the boy until Anaheim police arrived, Wyatt said.

That led to a physical confrontation between the officer and several other juveniles, Wyatt said. At that time, the officer, who hasn’t been identified, discharged his gun once.

The 13-year-old was booked at Orange County Juvenile Hall for criminal threats and battery. A 15-year-old boy was arrested for assault and battery and released to his parents.

The altercation may have started because of a misunderstanding between the 13-year-old boy and the officer, said Gregory Perez, 16, who witnessed the incident.

“The little kid said, ‘I’m going to sue you,’ and then the guy thought he said, ‘I’m going to shoot you.’ That’s when he started grabbing the little kid.”

In a nearly 9-minute video, the officer then grabs hold of the 13-year-old boy’s hoodie and pulls him across the yard as at least a dozen teenagers crowd around. Then, several boys rush the officer and push him over a hedge.

It was unclear if the officer identified himself as a policeman, but at least one of the teenagers in a video seems to indicate that he had.

The officer, in plain clothes, reaches into his waistband, pulls out a handgun and fires a shot while continuing to hold onto the boy; it appears he shot toward the ground. No one was hit.

As the crowd scatters, the boy yells out, “He put a gun to my face!”

Anaheim police officers arrive. They put the boy in handcuffs, take the LAPD officer away from the others and interview the officer.

Those living in the neighborhood said a confrontation with teenagers who often gather along West Palais Road wasn’t unexpected, because there are often loitering teens, some disrespectful. However, they were surprised that an off-duty officer resorted to firing a gun to settle a dispute.

“He may have felt threatened,” said Richard Bjorklund, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years.

The neighborhood has had problems with teenagers crossing streets outside of crosswalks, blocking traffic, cutting through lawns and applying graffiti to homes, Bjorklund said.

On Wednesday afternoon, a marked Anaheim police cruiser patrolled the neighborhood and detectives went door-to-door.

The off-duty officer had not been arrested and a criminal investigation into the incident was under way.

The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division is also looking into the altercation and will brief Chief Charlie Beck, who is responsible for determining the officer’s job status, LAPD spokesman Tony Im said.

The gun that was fired was not the officer’s service weapon, Wyatt said.

The Anaheim Police Department has received hundreds of phone calls from across the country from people wanting to express their feelings, so the agency has set up a special line: 714-765-7990.

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Contact the writer: 714-796-7767, sschwebke@scng.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline