SANDUSKY, OHIO: A northern Ohio sheriff says a friend accidentally shot and critically hurt a 13-year-old boy as the unsupervised teens were preparing to go bird-shooting.
The Sandusky Register reports a 15-year-old friend accidentally fired a shotgun and hit the younger boy in the back with birdshot Tuesday at a home in Berlin Township, roughly 50 miles east of Toledo.
Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth says the older boy had been trying to make sure the firearm wasn’t loaded.
The injured boy was flown to a Toledo hospital in critical condition.
Investigators interviewed the older teen on Tuesday and plan to discuss the case with prosecutors to determine whether any charges are warranted.
It wasn’t immediately clear who owns the firearm.