A 14-year-old boy was taking out the trash in Texas when he was shot and wounded Tuesday evening, police said.
The teenager was struck by gunfire in the thigh while outside his family’s home in the area of Dunbrook Park Lane in suburban Houston around 5:15 p.m., news station KPRC reported.
After he was shot, the victim ran through the neighborhood and managed to jump over a woman’s fence to call for help, cops said.
The victim, who has not been named, had to be airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
There was no immediate word on the boy’s condition.
A sheriff’s detective told reporters during a briefing that the incident occurred just 31 seconds into his walk to the trash cans near River Knoll and Bear Meadow.
Investigators who were summoned to the scene searched the area and were said to have recovered two shell casings.
They were trying to determine whether the shooting was random, or whether the 14-year-old was the gunman’s intended target.
Cops were planning to interview the teen about the shooting after his surgery, according to ABC13.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez took to Twitter to ask residents in the area to review their surveillance videos in search of any suspicious activity around the time of the shooting.
