A Bayfield County teenager who accidentally shot himself Sunday initially claimed he was shot by a stranger to avoid getting into trouble with his family.
Bayfield County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a Delta Township address around 7 p.m. for a report that a 16-year-old boy had been shot by someone attempting to steal items from his father’s truck. Investigators determined that the boy had accidentally shot himself in the lower leg with a .22-caliber pistol and “was afraid … he would get into trouble with his family,” a news release said.
“He wasn’t supposed to be messing around with the guns when no one was around,” Bayfield County Chief Deputy Dan Clark said.
The injury was not life threatening.
The office probably will not forward the case to the district attorney’s office for possible charges, Clark said.
