FALKNER, Miss. — A teenage girl was reportedly shot in the chest by her boyfriend Wednesday.
It happened on County Road 412 in Tippah County in the town of Falkner.
The girl is in Memphis at Regional Medical Center undergoing surgery.
Investigators said the bullet hit her in the side of her chest and never left her body, so until surgery is over, we won’t know how bad her injuries are.
The boyfriend’s mother, Christy Mason, was home when it happened and fought back tears as she relived Wednesday afternoon.
“It was just a freak accident, and if Shelby’s family sees this, we are sorry!” she said.
Mason told WREG her 16-year-old son had just got home from school and was hanging out with his 17-year-old girlfriend and their 3-month-old baby.
“They got a kid together. I have got a 3-month-old grandson,” said Mason. “He’s sorry, he didn’t mean to do it.”
Christy says her son was looking at a gun at their home when he accidentally pulled the trigger and fired a bullet right into his girlfriend’s chest.
“He begged to let him go with [deputies], but they wouldn’t let him. He did beg,” said Mason.
Paramedics brought the girlfriend to a baseball field next to Falkner High, where a rescue helicopter picked her up and took her to the hospital in critical condition.
Tippah County investigators took Mason’s son into custody, and as of now, they are also calling it an accident.
Mason said her son is devastated and in shock he hurt the girl he plans on marrying.
“Just pray for Shelby. They didn’t even let me tell him bye before they took him,” said Mason.
Investigators said they are in Memphis and will talk to the girlfriend as soon as she wakes up to see if her story matches everyone else’s.
If deputies decide this isn’t an accident, the boyfriend will be charged as an adult.
