MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A male juvenile was transported to the hospital after he was shot in Cherokee Park in the 1400 block of Smythe Wednesday evening, the Memphis Police Department said.
“I know my wife was sleeping. She woke me up and told me there were a whole lot of police cars out here,” a neighbor said.
The officers and paramedics showed up after a 10-year-old was carried by his friends to his home here in the 1400 block of Smythe.
Joe Love lives next door and had no idea what was going on.
“That’s scary when you hear something like that.”
According to police, 10-year-old was on the basketball court at Cherokee Park with several other kids when a 15-year-old pulled out a gun and it went off.
Officers on the scene say the victim had trauma to his nose.
He was transported to Le Bonheur hospital in critical condition, but is now listed as non-critical.
Three people were initially detained, but as of 9:30 a.m. Thursday, only one – a 15-year-old male – has been charged. Authorities said he knew the victim.
In April, a teenage girl shot herself in the hand while playing with a gun at park in Frayser.
“This world, it’s something else,” Love said.
The shooting victim is expected to be okay.
The 15-year-old was charged with reckless endangerment and possession of a handgun by a juvenile.
This is an ongoing investigation.