A 17-year-old boy accidentally shot himself and lied to investigators that a gunman had opened fire on him and his friends near Mundelein Saturday afternoon.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Mundelein Fire Department and Countryside Fire Protection District responded around 2:50 p.m. Saturday to the 18900 block of West Rose Avenue in unincorporated Mundelein for a shooting.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and located a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his left leg, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The boy said he was standing outside with two friends at the time of the incident.
The boy said a vehicle approached the three and someone inside the car shot at them, Covelli said.
A further investigation determined the boy was in possession of a firearm and accidentally shot himself in the leg.
Investigators confirmed that no one shot at the group of three, Covelli said. The boy’s two friends left the area after the shooting.
Sheriff’s deputies located two guns that were discarded near a dumpster close to where the group was standing.
The boy was transported to an area hospital by ambulance for treatment, Covelli said. His injury was not life-threatening.
The incident remains under investigation and criminal charges are possible.