BAYFIELD COUNTY, WIS. - 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.
