Longview police arrested a 15-year-old Kelso boy late Saturday night and booked him into the juvenile center on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police said the boy is suspected to be the driver of a van that ran down a 28-year-old man early Saturday morning in the 300 block alley between Oregon Way and 15th Avenue.

The action was deliberate and was motivated by gang rivalry, police said.

According to the police report, the victim and a female friend left the Cross Keys Pub, crossed Oregon Way and entered the alley. The couple saw a tan van enter the alley and heard the occupants shout something obscene about the color red, identified with the Norteños street gang.

The woman told police the man shouted an obscenity back, and then the van drove past them, turned around and sped directly at them with the lights off. The van struck the man, who flew through the air and into her, she said.

She told police the people in the van were Sureños, a street gang identified with the color blue who are the rivals of the Norteños.

The victim suffered a broken right leg and internal injuries, according to police. He is being treated at a Portland hospital.

Police located the boy on a tip. He admitted intentionally hitting the victim, according to the report.

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Highlands vehicular assault likely gang-related, police say  (Oct. 25)