Boy accidentally shoots sister with assault rifle

LA MESA (CNS) – A 12-year-old boy fired an assault rifle — apparently by accident — in his East County home Monday, sending a slug into his older sister's shoulder as she was lying on a living-room couch.

The pre-teen made a 911 call about 9:45 a.m. to report the shooting in the 8800 block of Jefferson Street in La Mesa. Officers and medics arrived to find the 17-year-old girl suffering from a bullet wound to the upper left side of her body, Lt. Matt Nicholass said.

An ambulance crew took the victim, who was conscious and alert, to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego for treatment of the apparently non-life- threatening injury.

Her brother told investigators he had inadvertently fired the AR-15 while handling it in a dining area next to the room where the girl was watching television.

“He was scared, very shocked,” the lieutenant said.

The round went through the victim's shoulder and into the sofa, according to Nicholass. It was not immediately clear if the boy or his parents might face any type of criminal charge, such as negligent use of a firearm, or if the weapon was properly registered, Nicholass said.