Published: October 06, 2008 10:50 pm      

Teens shoot each other with pellet guns

Two juveniles were injured after they shot each other with pellet guns Thursday.

A 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy were playing hide and seek along the walking trails in Woodward Thursday evening when the incident occurred, according to Woodward Police Det. Lt. Chuck Wheeler.

At some point during the game, the 16-year-old fired an air soft gun, which shoots plastic pellets, striking the 15-year-old in the leg, Wheeler said.

This upset the 15-year-old who then retrieved a pellet rifle from his residence, the detective said. Then standing near Broadmoor Drive on the opposite side of Cedar Avenue from the walking trails, the 15-year-old fired the rifle across the street at the 16-year-old who was hiding behind a monument, he said.

The 16-year-old was struck in the side by a lead pellet fired from the pellet rifle, Wheeler said.

According to police records, the hospital reported that both juveniles went to the emergency room. But neither had any serious injuries, the detective said.

“It is my understanding that the pellet was just under the skin (on the 16-year-old),” he said. Hospital officials noted on Friday that the boy had been treated and released.

Someone from the hospital first reported the shooting incident, calling the Woodward Police Department around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, according to police records. The initial report from the hospital, according to those same police records, was that “they had a kid there who was shot earlier on the trails.”

The parents of the 16-year-old did not want to file any charges, Wheeler said. Nevertheless, an investigation was conducted and the case was turned over to juvenile services, he said.

If they haven’t done so already, Wheeler said that representatives of juvenile services would conduct intakes on the juveniles. Both boys will be interviewed, he said, and then juvenile services will determine the best course of action, whether that is filing charges or recommending counseling.

Wheeler noted that the case was pursued because “it is serious.”

“You can kill someone with a pellet gun,” he said. “Fortunately here it was just a minor injury.”

In addition, Wheeler noted it is always a serious case when “a child gets upset enough to shoot someone.”