LOCAL : Shotgun Injures Boy; Owner Held

The manager of a Canoga Park apartment building was in jail this morning after he accidentally fired a sawed-off shotgun and the pellets struck an 11-year-old boy, causing minor injuries, Los Angeles police said.

Kevin Kellogg, 24, was arrested on suspicion of possessing an illegal firearm, a felony, and was being held at the West Valley Division jail in lieu of $5,000 bail, police said.

The boy was taken to UCLA Medical Center in Westwood shortly after the shooting, which occurred at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. He was in satisfactory condition after being treated for minor pellet wounds to the left side of his body, Lt. George Rock said. The victim’s name was not released by police.

Police said Kellogg was carrying the gun while “patrolling” in a courtyard area of the complex in the 21600 block of Saticoy Street. “He somehow slipped and fell, and it went off,” Rock said.

Police said the pellets apparently ricocheted off the pavement before hitting the boy. It was unclear how far away the victim was when he was struck. The incident is still under investigation.

Kellogg will not be charged with injuring the boy because investigators said they believe the shooting was accidental. But altering a shotgun by shortening its barrel makes the weapon illegal, Rock said.

Kellogg’s reasons for patrolling the complex were unknown. “That location doesn’t seem to be a terribly bad area,” Rock said.