A girl was shot in the face over the weekend after a boy from Carbon County brought a handgun into an Allentown bedroom, according to officials.
The boy accused of possessing the .380-caliber semiautomatic weapon and the girl accused of pressing the trigger are both facing charges, according to a news release issued Monday.
According to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan and Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca, the victim has been stabilized at the hospital but remains in critical condition.
Police went to a shooting in the 100 block of Pine Street just before 2 a.m. Sunday, where they discovered a female with a gunshot wound to the face. She was brought to the hospital as the police investigated.
Witnesses reported several juveniles hanging around in a bedroom, with one carrying a weapon in a fanny pack, according to authorities.
Several of the kids demanded to see the gun, and the youngster racked the slide, removing the magazine, according to police and the prosecution.
“He then told the others that there was not a round in the chamber and gave the gun to one of the female juveniles,” the release states. “That female juvenile pointed the handgun, equipped with a laser sight, around the room when she pulled the trigger and hit the victim in the face.”
According to the statement, most of the juveniles left, and the youngster who had the pistol in his fanny pack picked it up and escaped as well. He instructed the female juvenile who fired the gun to refrain from speaking to authorities, as doing so could result in an assault. One of the teens remained, called 911, and assisted the victim until police came.”
Police charged the Lansford youngster with intimidating witnesses or victims, carrying guns without a license, possessing a firearm as a child, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and five counts of recklessly endangering another person.
The girl from Allentown who fired the gun is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, being a juvenile in possession of a firearm, and reckless endangerment.
Authorities did not immediately identify those involved.
