Police say a teenager who was trying to find a spot to take homecoming photos was shot in the face by a Colorado town councilman Tuesday afternoon. The 17-year-old boy was with a friend, scouting for picturesque locations, when they ended up at a gated lakeside home in Conifer, about 35 miles outside Denver, and decided to hop the fence to ask the homeowner if they could return on the night of their school's homecoming dance and take photos there, the Colorado Sun reports. The homeowner called police as well as her boyfriend, who also lives at the property, to report trespassers, 9 News reports.
Meanwhile, the boys had returned to their car, which was parked on the street, after believing no one was home. They were writing a note to leave for the homeowner when, police say, Brent Metz, the aforementioned boyfriend, pulled up and blocked them from leaving. The 38-year-old, a councilman for the nearby town of Mountain View, allegedly pointed a handgun at them through the windshield. When it fired, shattering the windshield and hitting the teen in the face, Metz allegedly said, "Oh s---, my gun went off!" The teen had serious injuries to his mouth and nose and a bullet fragment in his brain, but he is recovering at home, the Washington Post reports. Metz faces charges of first-degree assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, and reckless endangerment. (More Colorado stories.)