Police search for suspects after woman is shot at Santa Monica Pier

Police are investigating after a woman was found with a gunshot wound at the Santa Monica Pier early Thursday, an incident that prompted the closure of the popular tourist spot for most of the morning, officials said.

At about 6:05 a.m., a fisherman notified guards after seeing a woman in her 20s with a gunshot wound to her thigh at the west end of the pier near the Mariasol restaurant, according to authorities.

The woman was taken to a local hospital. Her wounds are not life-threatening, officials said.

The woman told police she had been shot by a man in his 20s who was accompanied by a woman, said Rudy Flores, a spokesman for the Santa Monica Police Department. When questioned further, the woman gave no other information and became “vague” and “uncooperative,” he said.

Police had not identified any witnesses to the the shooting, he said. Detectives were investigating and a dive team was deployed to search the waters under the pier for a weapon.

The west end of the pier was closed to the public for most of the morning and reopened around 11 a.m.

“Everything is pretty much back to normal,” Flores said of the pier, which is typically highly populated by tourists visiting its several restaurants and attractions.