Teen in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in head, San Antonio police say

The teen was rushed to the Brooke Army Medical Center, officials say

SAN ANTONIO – A 16-year-old boy is hospitalized and in critical condition after accidentally shooting himself in the head while at his friend’s home, according to San Antonio police.

The incident happened around 7 p.m., Saturday, at a residence in the 6000 block of Jackies Farm.

Police said two teens, one of which lived at the home, were playing with a gun that they thought was unloaded at the time.

Moments later, police said the teen’s friend had the gun and accidentally shot himself in the head, not realizing there was a bullet in the gun’s chamber.

After hearing the gunshot go off, officials said the parents of one of the teens quickly notified police of the incident.

Once officials arrived at the scene, the teen’s friend was rushed to the Brooke Army Medical Center in critical, life-threatening condition, according to police.

“It was not a suicide attempt, it was not intentional, it was not some type of homicide. It was truly an accident as best as we can tell, at this point,” officials said in a statement.

The gun, an AR-15 rifle, belonged to one of the teen’s parents, according to police, and is one of several they keep locked away at the residence.

Officials said the parents may be facing a charge of making a firearm accessible to a child.

This is a developing story and we’ll bring more details as they become available.

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About the Authors:

Cody King is a digital journalist for KSAT 12. She previously worked for WICS/WRSP 20 in Springfield, Illinois.

Joe Arredondo is a photojournalist at KSAT 12.