A St Joseph teenager was seriously hurt after an accidental shooting Thursday night. Authorities are not sure if the victim shot himself or was shot by a friend.
St Joseph Police Commander Janice Rothganger says the victim, an 18-year-old black male, was with some friends at King Hill Lookout, in the 200 block of King Hill Drive, at about 10:30pm Wednesday, when he was shot in the leg.
“We’re continuing to try to piece together what happened,” Rothganger said.
“Even after talking to the friends, we’re not sure if he accidentally shot himself, or was accidentally shot by someone who was present with him.”
Rothganger says the victim likely faces amputation.
“The victim was shot in the leg with a shotgun, suffered very serious injuries,” Rothganger said, “and is expected to lose his left leg below the knee.”
Rothganger says their investigation continues.
“We don’t have anybody in custody as of yet. Considering the nature of the injuries, we’re going to follow up and see if any criminal charges need to be filed. Again, we don’t know the exact circumstances leading up to the accidental discharge. Any time somebody is shot, somebody is resonsible for that.”
Rothganger says if there are criminal charges to be looked into, our detectives will determine that, and forward that to the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office for review. But she says it’s way too early to guess on what might happen.
If you have information that could help detectives, you are urged to contact police.