A Colorado teenager was shot in the face by a city council member after she tried to ask the council member's boyfriend for permission to take homecoming photos on her property, police said.
The 17-year-old told authorities he and a friend jumped the fence of a home in Conifer, about 30 miles southwest of Denver, on Tuesday and walked up the home's driveway, hoping to talk to the homeowner about using the property for homecoming photos. The Colorado Sun reported.
Unable to find the homeowner, they returned to their car and began writing notes asking about using the property for a photo shoot.
A few minutes later, a truck pulled up next to the boys on the road, and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the truck's driver, Brent Metz, 38, got out and fired a round at the boys through the windshield, striking one of them in the face.
Police were called by the homeowner after receiving a report of two trespassers and found the boy “bleeding heavily from the face” with a friend applying pressure to the wound with a T-shirt.
According to the outlet, Metz, the homeowner's boyfriend and a Mountain View city council member, was called to the house by his girlfriend, who was not at home but saw the teens on the security system.
Officers found notes written by the boys at the scene, which corroborated their story. CBS News reported.
According to the arrest report obtained by CBS, the boy said he didn't believe Metz shot him intentionally.
According to the arrest report, the boy “heard the driver (Brent) say, 'Oh no, the gun went off,'” the juvenile said.
Metz also told authorities that he tried to help after the shooting, but the victim's childhood friend, a 15-year-old boy, pushed him away and “asked him why he shot his friend.”
Officers found a gun in Metz's truck and Metz was standing next to the boys when they arrived, according to the release.
The Sheriff's Department did not say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
Metts is a member of the Mountain View Town Council, according to the town's website. He was sworn in last year for the town of just over 500 people and is due to serve a term through 2027.
He was arrested and booked into jail on charges of first-degree assault, felony menacing, unlawful discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment.
Authorities said the boy remained hospitalized as of Wednesday.
