A Colorado teen is in the hospital and a man is behind bars after the latter allegedly shot the high school student in the face through the windshield of a car.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were sent to a home in Conifer, CO on Tuesday around 4:15pm, after receiving a call from a homeowner about trespassers on her property. Per police, the woman also called her boyfriend — suspect Brent Metz — about the people she spotted via surveillance camera near the home.
By the time deputies arrived at the scene, a shooting had already occurred, as Metz had allegedly reached the location before authorities.
“As he approached, the deputy could see a juvenile male bleeding heavily from his face, as a second juvenile applied pressure to his friend’s wounds with a t-shirt,” said the sheriff’s department, who added Metz was standing near the two teens.
The pair then explained what allegedly led to the shooting.
Per the boys, they said they drove to the home to see if they could take homecoming photos on the property. They said they parked at the gate, jumped the fence and walked up the driveway to speak to the owner, who wasn’t home. After walking around the property to see if they could find someone, they said they returned to their car to write a note to the homeowner and again ask permission to take photos there.
That’s when they said “a man they had never seen before pulled up next to them, exited the truck he was driving, and fired a round through the windshield, striking the 17-year-old driver in the face.”
According to Jefferson County Sheriff’s spokesperson, Jacki Kelley, via CBS News, the boys said “there was no conversation” before Metz — who asked for a lawyer at the scene — allegedly fired.
Per the arrest affidavit, the teen who was shot said he didn’t think the shooting was intentional, while his 15-year-old friend said he heard Metz exclaim, “Oh s–t, my gun went off!” He added that Metz offered to help, but the friend pushed him off, asking why he shot his friend. Per the Colorado Sun, a bullet fragment was found in the teen’s head.
A gun was located inside Metz’s truck, while the letter the boys were writing was found in their vehicle. Kelley said there’s no reason to believe the boys were up to anything “malicious or criminal other than stepping across their fence.” She also told CBS News that it’s not legal to use deadly force while defending property, unless there’s reason for someone believe they’re in danger.
Metz, a town council member in Mountain View, was booked into jail for 1st Degree Assault, Felony Menacing (x2), Illegal Discharge of a Firearm, and Reckless Endangerment (x2).
He bonded out of jail on Wednesday and is due back in court on Monday.
