Irving, Texas

From the Dallas Morning News of April 6, 2006

Irving shooting victim, 16, could face charges

A Dallas County grand jury will likely decide whether a 16-year-old boy shot in Irving on Wednesday should face criminal charges for attempting to rob a 45-year-old man at gunpoint.

Irving police spokesman Officer David Tull said the teenager approached the 45-year-old man in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 9400 block of E. Valley Ranch at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Police did not release either person’s name Thursday.

The man was talking on his cell phone in a parked pick-up truck when the teen wielded a gun and demanded the phone and the man’s wallet. The man told the boy he was reaching for his wallet, but instead grabbed his gun, which was next to him. The man then pushed the boy’s arm up and simultaneously shot him, Officer Tull said.

The teen, who was struck in the chest, spun around and then fled on foot. Fearing he may return, the man in the truck drove off and then called police.

The 16-year-old was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was listed in serious condition Thursday. Police said the bullet entered his upper chest and exited out the left side of his back. When police arrived at the scene, the teen did not have a gun on him but police later recovered one about an hour later.

The man in the truck will likely not face charges, Officer Tull said.

A companion story from the Houston Star-Telegram of April 6, 2006

Shooting was justified, police say

An Irving teen-ager accused of trying to rob a man at gunpoint Wednesday night was shot by the victim in a parking lot of an apartment complex, police said Thursday.

The 16-year-old remained in intensive care in critical condition Thursday at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, police said. The teen suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, police said.

The man was not injured, police said. Police declined to identify the man or the teen.

No other injuries were reported in the shooting that occurred about 9 p.m. Wednesday in the 9400 block of E. Valley Ranch Parkway.

The attempted holdup victim, a 45-year-old Irving man, told police that he was sitting in his pickup truck in the parking lot, talking on his cellphone, when the teen walked up. The teen — armed with a semi-automatic handgun — demanded the man’s cellphone and wallet, police said.

The man told the teen he would give him his wallet and acted as though he was going to get it, but instead grabbed a larger caliber revolver that was lying on the seat, police said.

As he pushed the teen’s gun away, the man shot the suspect, police said.

The teen spun around and ran away, police said. Fearing that the teen would return, the man drove away from the complex, police said.

A few minutes later, residents found the teen, without a handgun, sitting on a curb near the apartment complex office, telling them he had been shot, police said.

The teen was transported by ambulance to Parkland, police said. As the teen was headed to the hospital, the man called police to say that he had almost been robbed at the apartment complex.

The man drove back to the complex and gave police details of the attempted holdup.

Because the teen did not have a handgun when he was found, police searched the complex and discovered it a few hours later.

“At this point, we believe it was self-defense,” Irving police spokesman David Tull said.

The teen is expected to be charged with aggravated robbery, Tull said. The shooting case will be turned over to a Dallas County grand jury for consideration, Tull said.