Springfield teen shot himself with stolen gun, police say

Springfield police say a 16-year-old shot himself in the leg with a stolen gun on Saturday.

A police report says officers responded to a report of a shooting at around 8 p.m. at a home on the 400 block of West High Street. A 16-year-old said he had been shot near train tracks in the city, but an investigation found that wasn’t true.

“Officers were unable to locate a blood trail anywhere in the residence,” the report says. “The only blood we observed was in (the teen’s) bedroom. Due to the area in which (the teen) was shot, we believed he had accidentally shot himself.”

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Officers found a spent .45 caliber shell casing on the floor near where the teen was sitting, the report says, and it was collected for evidence. The teen was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center. Officers met the teen at the hospital, where he told them that he had shot himself.

“At this time, (the teen) advised he accidentally shot himself,” the report says.

The officers then asked where he put the gun and he told them he threw it out a bedroom window, the report says. However, officers found that to be another lie, the report says, as officers were unable to find the gun.

The investigation found that the teen was with friends during the shooting, the report says, and that one of the friends had taken the gun and thrown it in the backyard of the home. Officers eventually found the gun under the deck of the home.

“The gun was found to be a Taurus 45 cal 1911 semi-auto handgun,” the report says. “An officer observed the gun to be cocked, with a live round in the chamber. There were also four live rounds in the magazine. Upon running the gun through dispatch, it was found to be stolen.”

The teen who allegedly attempted to hide the gun was arrested for tampering with evidence, according to the report.

“An officer advised (the teen) that a child could have found that gun, and possibly got hurt,” the report says.

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