Two teenagers were injured Thursday when one of them accidentally discharged a firearm while he was in his parked truck at the Stanford Shopping Center parking lot.
One of the male teens shot himself in the hand, and the round then struck another occupant of the vehicle in the leg, according to the Palo Alto Police Department.
Police responded to an area hospital on Thursday, May 12, at 12:17 a.m. on a report of two people who had just arrived with gunshot wounds. The injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The teens initially reported they had been the victims of an armed robbery that had occurred about 30 minutes earlier at the Stanford Shopping Center parking lot, but police ultimately determined there had not been a robbery.
Police said the teens had been sitting in a truck smoking marijuana when one of them accidentally discharged a handgun.
They then drove themselves to the hospital for treatment.
Investigators located a bloodied handgun with no serial number under the driver's seat of the truck.
Police said the case will be forwarded to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office for review and any applicable charges.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Comments
Registered user
another community
on May 15, 2022 at 7:11 am
Registered user
on May 15, 2022 at 7:11 am
We’re these two kids arrested? There are at least 5 criminal acts being mentioned in this article
1. Having an unsecured firearm (not locked away, inaccessible to occupants, ammo separate from the firearm)
2. Discharging said firearm within the city limits
3. Discharging said firearm in an unsafe and potentially dangerous manner
4. Possessing a “ghost gun” An gun with no identifiable serial number
5. I don’t think minors can possess a firearm without adult supervision. I know that they can not possess a handgun, with no adult supervision, without being 21
They are in jail right?
Registered user
Menlo Park: other
on May 15, 2022 at 9:27 pm
Registered user
on May 15, 2022 at 9:27 pm
"They are in jail right?"
Very doubtful. The DA and politicians in California are more interested in grabbing headlines with their new gun control legislation than they are enforcing the existing laws on the books and punishing the individuals that break those laws. They should be arrested for the laws they broke, and they certainly broke several of them, as well as an investigation on where and how they got the gun. I bet that If they were arrested they will get no punishment at all. I doubt we will ever know...
Registered user
Menlo Park: other
on May 16, 2022 at 7:41 am
Registered user
on May 16, 2022 at 7:41 am
" I bet that If they were arrested they will get no punishment at all. I doubt we will ever know..."
I bet you are right. Much of the gun violence in this country could be stopped by DA's enforcing the laws that are already on the books instead of plea bargaining the gun charges and gun sentencing enhancements away. Until that happens the criminals realize there is very little down side to using a gun to commit a crime.