17-year-old killed in accidental shooting

JPD SUV on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
JPD vehicle. Photo by Quinton Chandler/KTOO

A 17-year-old boy was killed in an accidental shooting outside a home in the Mountain Wood Circle neighborhood Saturday morning.

The boy was one of four males preparing for a duck hunt according to a Juneau Police Department press release.

He was reportedly standing outside of a truck when he tried to pull his shotgun out of the back seat by its barrel. The shotgun went off and the boy was hit in his torso.

The rest of the hunting party was standing outside of the truck during the shooting. Police said they tried to give the victim first aid before 1st responders arrived.

An ambulance took the victim to Bartlett Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The victim was a student at Thunder Mountain High School. Police said Juneau School District will provide grief counseling to people who knew the victim and those hurt by his death.

JPD spokeswoman Erann Kalwara said accidental shootings are rare in Juneau. She wasn’t certain how many occur but said there are no more than two per year.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications