A teenager was shot in the face while scouting a location near a Colorado lake for homecoming photos over the weekend. The incident occurred when the boyfriend of the property owner fired his weapon, exclaiming, 'Oh sh__, my gun went off,' according to court records.
The 17-year-old victim survived the shooting and indicated to investigators that he did not believe the man, identified as Brent Metz, intentionally shot him. Metz, a councilman in a small town in the Denver metro area, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of charges including first-degree assault.
Metz, who did not respond to requests for comment, is a councilman in Mountain View. The victim and a friend had hopped a fence onto the property to seek permission for taking photos. After failing to locate the homeowners, they returned to their car to leave a note.
Metz was alerted to the trespassers by his girlfriend, the property owner, and drove to the scene where the boys were sitting in their car. Allegedly, Metz pointed a gun at them and fired through the windshield, causing severe injuries to one of the boys.
The injured teenager was found bleeding profusely from his face, with a piece of his mouth missing. His friend applied pressure to stop the bleeding while Metz attempted to assist, but was pushed away. A hospital scan revealed a possible bullet fragment still lodged in the victim's head.
Metz faces charges of first-degree assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, and reckless endangerment in connection with the incident.