A 17-year-old Colorado boy was shot in the face Tuesday after he and a friend went to a home to ask permission to take homecoming photos on the property.
The shooting happened around 4:15 p.m. at a home on Pleasant Park Road in Jefferson County, the sheriff’s office said.
When deputies arrived, the 17-year-old was “bleeding heavily from his face, as a second juvenile applied pressure to his friend’s wounds with a t-shirt,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday. The teen is recovering from his injuries.
Brent Metz, the boyfriend of a woman who lives at the home, was arrested in connection with the shooting.
He was booked on charges of first-degree assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, and reckless endangerment. It’s not clear if he has obtained an attorney.
The sheriff’s office said the woman, who was not at the home, had called deputies before the shooting to report two trespassers on her property. She also called Metz, who drove over to the home and allegedly blocked the teen’s car from leaving, according to NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver.
Metz then got out of his vehicle and allegedly fired one round through the windshield of the teen’s car, the news station reported.
The 17-year-old told deputies that he and his friend went to the home because they wanted to take pictures there. He said they parked outside the gate, hopped the fence and walked up the driveway to look for the homeowner, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
When they could not find anyone at the residence, the boys “walked around the property trying to locate a homeowner” and then got back in their car, the sheriff’s office said.
“They returned to their car and began writing a note to the homeowner, asking permission to use their property to take pictures,” authorities said. “While they were doing this, a man they had never seen before pulled up next to them, exited the truck he was driving, and fired a round through the windshield, striking the 17-year-old driver in the face.”
A sheriff’s office spokesperson told KUSA that the teen’s intent did not seem “malicious or criminal.”
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the news station, one of the teens said they heard Metz say, “Oh s—, my gun just went off,” after the shooting. Metz tried to help the 17-year-old but his friend pushed him away, the affidavit says.
Metz, 38, is a council member for the town of Mountain View, according to KUSA. The town administrator declined to comment when contacted by NBC News on Thursday.
Second rule of gun training, DON’T POINT IT AT ANYTHING YOU DON’T INTEND TO SHOOT. “oh my god my gun just went off” means a lot different if you put one in your chair cushion than if you put one in someone’s fucking windshield and face.
The version I’ve heard is a bit more stark than that:
do not point the business end of a firearm at anything you are not 100% ok with killing or destroying
A friend of mine’s mom lives on that street so I heard about this only a couple hours after it happened. It’s a very friendly neighborhood and this type of behavior from teenagers isn’t all that surprising. It’s in the middle of the woods basically and it’s not uncommon to see kids wandering around. The kinda neighborhood you see people pull up into other people’s driveways to turn around. This wasn’t even the man’s house. It was his girlfriend’s house and he so readily pulled his gun on some kid. Even if it was an accident you don’t point a fucking gun at someone’s face unless you mean it. That’s basic gun shit.
The kinda neighborhood you see people pull up into other people’s driveways to turn around.
Outside the US, this is every neighbourhood
I mean, it’s pretty common everywhere, I believe. I think the difference is how people react. I’ve definitely gotten yelled at before when turning around. A lot of people in the US are super protective of their property, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. I’m a land surveyor so I often go through people’s properties and I’ve been shot at before. Even had my shiny orange vest on as I heard a bullet wizz past me.
I’d say the guy from the article was one of them but he wasn’t even the home owner.
It’s a very friendly neighborhood
Mhm, sure seems like it.
Well, the dude that shot the kid wasn’t from around there. It was just his girlfriend’s house. It literally mentions it in the article.
Turns out he is not even her boyfriend. The homeowner had called police and her boyfriend, who is not Metz, to report the teenagers for trespassing.
Well than what the fuck was he even doing there? Was he just some random dude or a friend or something? This story just gets more and more mind boggling.
He is a city council member…
My guess is he heard it on the police scanner and decided to play vigilante.
Yeah but she is. She’s Dating the psychopath and she called him. So isn’t it friendly neighborhood with her at it?
Turns out he is not even her boyfriend. The homeowner had called police and her boyfriend, who is not Metz, to report the teenagers for trespassing.
If you’re a 38yo ADULT MAN and think you need a gun for two 17yo teens, you’re not fit to own a gun. Even if they’re big football playing types who could double-team you and beat your ass, you don’t need a gun. Wtf.
Didn’t you read what they did!!!
They walked on someone’s property to try and talk to them!!
And you think this ADULT MAN would just roll over and take that!
/s
The horror.
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According to an arrest affidavit, Metz declined to speak to responding deputies, instead asking for an attorney. A deputy asked if there was a gun present for safety and Metz said it was in his truck.
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/conifer-teen-shot-face-seeking-permission-photos/
You ever look at a booking photo on an article and just think, “that is exactly what I expected the person to look like”?
Honestly, when I found it, that was my exact thought. I had to post it…was that stereotypical.
This dude is juicing wow look at that glow
Theres a whole lot of stupid going on in this story!
Crazy stupid how these people own a gun and dont know how to fucking handle it
Yet suggest better regulations on making sure people who own a gun understand it, and you get accused of taking away god given rights.
Life in prison.
Poor kid. Doesn’t say what caliber gun was used. Wondering how much, if anything, the windshield prevented greater damage or even death, to him.
Remember the only thing that can stop teenagers with a camera is a dumbass with a gun.
USA! USA! USA!
This case it was not even a camera, they were sitting in the car writing a note to ask permission to take pictures.
I’m glad this guy was arrested and there’s no excuse for shooting these kids. But also holy shit. They jumped a fence onto private property and then wandered around it? No wonder a woman home alone was worried for her safety.
She wasn’t home, according to the article. Presumably, she saw them on motion recorded video or something. It’s not specifically mentioned how she knew people were on her property. That just seems likely to me.
Strangers wandering your property is actually a super normal part of rural life. Why do you think so many people actually put up “no trespassing signs”, because otherwise the assumption is that you are ok with meeting new people that way. It’s a completely different mindset in a place where that type of crime is super rare. No one is worried the stranger on their property is a criminal, because they never are.
These people apparently weren’t of that mindset, and maybe should consider “no trespassing” signs for the future.
Signs and fences unfortunately don’t mean much to US laws, as we learned in a university law class. Look up attractive nuisances. If someone gets hurt on your property, even if you have signs and fences saying “warning: aggressive bull” and they hop the fence and get trampled, they can still sue and win.
This also includes stuff like trampolines, pools, etc.
It’s not about legality. It’s about knowing the mindset of the owner and informing your approach if you need to contact them. You can assume that if they put up that sign, they won’t be friendly if you do it anyway. That’s another thing about rural life, litigation is not on anyone’s minds. It’s just about manners and respect. The sign has nothing to do with legality. It’s like in a city when you put up a “no solicitation” sign. People can totally still solicit you, they just know what to expect if they do, and thus generally won’t bother.
Never had a stranger wander onto your property before? People roll up to my home in vehicles and ATVs to ask questions every year. Usually to ask about permission to hunt or lease parts of the property in person.
I’ve never had a stranger hop the fence to get onto my property. It’s completely different walking up to someone’s front door versus a house where you need to climb over a barrier to enter.
I’m willing to bet your property has a driveway open to the road right?
What if the property is entirely surrounded by a fence, including the driveway from the road? How would someone knock on the door to ask permission for something? Or to leave a note, if someone is not home? Which is literally what these kids were doing.
There’s no excuse to raise a weapon towards an unidentified person on your property without even attempting to talk to them first. Period. They clearly were not a threat at the time.
I already said that in the first comment but I’m glad you agree.
