A Long Island man was arrested after allegedly shooting a 14-year-old boy who rang his doorbell as a prank on Thursday night, reports said.
James Moshier, 64, was charged with assault and recklessly injuring a child with a deadly weapon after allegedly shooting the teen in the arm on his Laurel property around 9 p.m., according to WABC-TV.
The teen knocked on Moshier’s front and back door several times, causing a woman who lived in the home to believe it was being burglarized, News 12 reported.
She woke up Moshier, who went to his backdoor and allegedly fired a shotgun at the teen, according to the article.
Several other teens who were at a sleepover with the shooting victim told the cable outlet he and another friend were bored and had picked a random home in the neighborhood to “doorbell ditch.”
“Sometimes what we think are harmless pranks turn into major incidents,” Southold Police Capt. James Ginas reportedly said, urging people to “be smart.”
The teen was treated at a hospital. Moshier was freed on $20,000 bail ahead of a court date next week, News 12 reported.
Southold detectives did not immediately return a request for comment from The Post.