Two Boise teens led police on an hourlong search for an imaginary gunman after one of them accidentally shot himself in the side.
Police Lt. Tim Rosenvall said the boys were at a northern Boise home Thursday morning when the 17-year-old accidentally shot himself with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol.The boy and an 18-year-old friend walked to a public telephone at an M&W market, where they called police. The shooting victim collapsed on the sidewalk.
When officers arrived, the two described a gunman they said shot the boy. Police began an extensive search, looking for another juvenile.
But later, Rosenvall said, the story was discredited after the evidence did not match up. The victim and his friend later admitted they gave officers false information, he said.
We believe it was an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot," Rosenvall said. "There was no suspect."
The 17-year-old was treated and released from a Boise hospital. The 18-year-old was charged with filing a false police report.
Rosenvall said he did not know why the two concocted the story. Merely having the gun in a private residence would not have been a crime, he said.
The charge of filing a false report is a misdemeanor. Detectives are also investigating the registration of the pistol, but it appeared to be an old firearm.