Shooting between juveniles in Smithfield was unintentional, police say
A shooting that injured a juvenile last week was an accident, Smithfield police said Monday.
The incident, which happened around 6:21 p.m. Nov. 1, involved two juveniles who knew each other, Capt. Ryan Sheppard told The News & Observer. Multiple media outlets reported the injured boy was 15 years old.
Police consulted with the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office and petitioned the juvenile accused of unintentionally shooting the victim with filing a false police report, which will initiate a juvenile court case.
The investigation is ongoing.
Sheppard said he could not say what type of gun was involved and who owns it, or provide information on the alleged false police report.
The injured juvenile was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries after police responded to the scene near Furlong Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
A state task force recently reported that children injured by gunfire in North Carolina increased 15% to 319 last year from 2019, The News & Observer reported.
Child firearm deaths rose 88% from 56 to 105 last year, the most since at least 1999, according to the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics. The previous high was 61 deaths in 2018, The N&O reported. Most of those who died were boys 15 to 17 years old.
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This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Shooting between juveniles in Smithfield was unintentional, police say."
