Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release:

On 09-21-2014, at approximately 3:00 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a local hospital regarding a 17 year juvenile male receiving treatment in the Emergency Room after being shot in the neck with a BB type gun. A deputy responded to the Emergency Room and met with the victim and his mother. The victim told the deputy he was walking south on Dow’s Prairie Road, near Dow’s Prairie Elementary School after visiting with a friend nearby when he heard the sound of a BB type gun being fired. At the same time he heard the sound, he felt a stinging in the front of his neck. He grasped his neck with his hand and saw there was blood on his hand. He realized he had been shot in the neck. The victim told the deputy he was shot around midnight.

The victim walked home after being shot and examined himself. He felt the BB in his neck and attempted to remove it without success. He alerted his mother, who drove him to a local hospital to be treated.

The victim told the deputy he had no idea who shot him or why, and he did not see anyone.
The Emergency Room doctor told the investigating deputy the BB was resting very close to nerves and was within 5 mm of striking the victims jugular vein. If the BB had severed the jugular vein the victim could have died from the injury.

Deputies searched the Dow’s Prairie Road area for any possible suspects or witnesses and did not locate anyone.

Anyone with information for the Sheriffs Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriffs Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriffs Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.