A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting and wounding a 16-year-old boy outside a Sandy middle school last week brought the gun to scare the older boy, but pulled the trigger when the victim confronted him, according to charges filed Monday in 3rd District Juvenile Court.
The alleged shooter was charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with one count each of attempted murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, both first-degree felonies.
The boy, from Midvale, also was charged with one count of third-degree felony discharge of a firearm, as well as one count of class A misdemeanor possession of a firearm on school premises.
A hearing is set for Tuesday morning before Judge Tupakk Renteria, at the West Jordan courthouse.
Charging documents state that at about 3 p.m. on Oct. 25, the 14-year-old — who took the gun from his mother's closet — brought the gun to school because he and the older boy had decided to fight and he was afraid the older boy "would do something."
The 14-year-old told police "he was just going to point the gun at him and, hopefully, he'd get scared," charges state.
But when the older boy, a student at Hillcrest High School, walked up to him and said, "Let's just do this right now," the 14-year-old pulled out the gun and pulled the trigger, charges state.
The 14-year-old admitted shooting the older boy twice, and that he had told the victim "he would re-unite him with his mother, who had passed away," charges state.
In addition to making fun of the older boy's deceased mother, a friend of the victim has told The Tribune that the 14-year-old was dating the victim's former girlfriend.
A female student told police that the 14-year-old had showed her and another student a gun in his backpack, charges state, and that the boy had told her the day before "to not go to school on Oct. 15," charges state.
A teacher who was outside on duty at the time of the episode, told police she saw the older boy walking toward the 14-year-old with his hands up and "realized there was a fighting scenario," charges state.
The she heard a shot, saw the 14-year-old pointing a black gun and the older boy starting to fall, charges state.
The teacher said there were three shots, and that a fourth shot was prevented when the gun "jammed."
When she reached the boys, the older one was on the ground bleeding, while the 14-year-old had dropped to his knees, charges state. The teacher told police she grabbed the gun from the younger boy's hand
The 14-year-old was arrested at the scene and taken to a juvenile-detention center.
Charges say the 16-year-old boy was shot on the right side of his skull above the ear, with an exit wound on top of his head. He also was shot on the left side of his neck, a couple of inches behind his ear, with an exit wound in his left cheek.
A police detective was advised by doctors at Intermountain Medical Center on Oct. 25 that one of the bullets appeared to have "nicked" the carotid artery and had fractured one of the boy's vertebrae, charges state.
When the detective returned to the hospital the next day, the boy was being prepared for another surgery because "more bone fragments had been detected in his brain and his jaw was broken," charges state.
Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger said Monday that the 16-year-old boy's condition had been upgraded from critical to stable condition. He added that the boy's condition has been steadily improving and that he is expected to recover.
Because he is a juvenile, police have not released the name of the injured boy.
Court officials said Monday that the 14-year-old boy has no prior criminal history.
The Tribune generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Kalani Matthews, 17, and friends watch the police scene from across the street from Union Middle School. Matthews said it was his brother that was injured in the shooting. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Kalani Matthews, 17, (right) gets a hug from Dusti Rowland, 16, across the street from Union Middle School. Matthews said it was his brother that was injured in the shooting. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim — who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Kalani Matthews, 17, (right) and his friends gather around Rachel Otteson as they try to identify the Union Middle School shooting suspect in photographs found on the internet. Matthews said it was his brother that was injured in the shooting. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Kalani Matthews, 17, (center) and friends watch the police scene from across the street from Union Middle School. Matthews said it was his brother that was injured in the shooting. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune "He's alive?" cried Mason Lewis, 14, with his hands on his head, after Dusti Rowland (left) and Rachel Otteson, 18, (right) told him that his best friend who was shot outside Union Middle School was in recovery after surgery. Lewis said he ate lunch with the victim at Hillcrest High School hours before the shooting occurred. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune Mason Lewis, 14, is comforted by a passerby after learning that his best friend was shot outside Union Middle School. Lewis said he ate lunch with the victim at Hillcrest High School hours before the shooting occurred. A 16-year-old boy was critically injured after being shot outside Union Middle School in Sandy by a 14-year-old, who is a student at the middle school. The shooting occurred about 3 p.m. when two teenage boys got into an argument on a field north of the school, said Sandy police Sgt. Dean Carriger. The victim Ñ who is a student at Hillcrest High School was transported by ambulance in critical condition to Intermountain Medical Center, where he went into surgery about 4:30 p.m. for two gunshot wounds.The 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
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