Teen Accidentally Shot by Friends

Two youths reaching for a handgun accidentally shot a friend in the face early Friday, critically wounding him, police said.

The shooting occurred at 12:20 a.m. in the living room of a 15-year-old. Four boys, ages 14 to 17, were in the house alone when two of them somehow reached for a semi-automatic handgun owned by the host’s father, and it fired. The bullet hit a 17-year-old in the left side of the face and exited out the back of his head, police said.

The youths rushed to his side and called police, Garden Grove police Detective Tim Craig said. Paramedics took the 17-year-old to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was listed in extremely critical condition.

Investigators said it was unclear how long the youths had been handling the gun before it went off at the house in the 6800 block of Lampson Avenue.

“It doesn’t look like anyone was liable,” Craig said. “Basically, it appears to be an accident.”

The man who owns the gun, whom police would not identify, had bought it for protection and kept it on a high shelf, police said.

The man “familiarized (his son) about the gun with general instructions, but I don’t know how extensive,” Craig said. The father appeared to have tried to keep the gun out of his son’s reach, Craig said.

The three youths, still shaken, were taken to the police station for questioning and released to their parents.

Police are still investigating the shooting and conducting more interviews, Craig said.

Investigators said they would have the three youths, friends from a western Garden Grove school, talk to school counselors Friday to help them deal with the shooting.

There have been 33 accidental deaths in Orange County involving guns between 1987 and 1992, coroner’s records show. So far this year, there have been five, officials said.