Teen on life support after friend shoots him in the eye, courts docs say

A 17-year-old is on life support after being shot in the eye by his friend, according to a juvenile petition filed Monday in Hennepin County Court.

Another 17-year-old faces one count of first-degree assault and one count of having and operating a gun with a binary trigger.

Court documents state that New Hope officers were called to a shooting at a home on the 6000 block of Quebec Avenue North just before 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The caller, the 17-year-old named in the juvenile petition, said his friend, the victim, had shot himself and was unconscious and not breathing.

When officers got to the scene, they found the victim lying on a couch with a gunshot wound to his eye. Police couldn’t find a pulse.

According to court documents, there was a ghost gun at the victim’s feet. The victim’s friend said the gun had a binary trigger, meaning that one round is fired upon pulling the trigger and another is fired when the trigger is released.

The teen told police he woke up to a gunshot and found the victim down on the couch.

A witness said when she walked past the room, the teen was on the bed, and the victim was about to sit on the couch. The boys were talking and laughing and then she heard a gunshot.

A second witness said the victim was trying to wake the teen up and the two were joking around. He said right before he heard the gunshot, he saw the teen lying in bed and the victim leaning over him after asking for a vape.

After the gunshot, he said the teen was holding the victim and crying, “No, no, no!” The witness added that he didn’t see either boy with a gun and that they had been taking photos and videos with the gun throughout the night, court documents state.

Based on where the bullets were recovered and the positioning of the boys, according to the witnesses, investigators determined that the teen had shot his friend. Court documents noted that the witness statements contradicted statements the teen made, as well as his 911 call saying the victim shot himself.

The petition adds that the victim is on life support and has no brainwave activity.