Teen Shot While Defending Mom, Cops Say

PLANT CITY, FL — A 42-year-old man faces a number of charges after Plant City Police say he shot a 15-year-old boy in the stomach Monday night, leaving him in critical condition.

According to the agency, a fight between Ricardo Gonzales and April Masias, 32, broke out in the 1700 block of Charles Avenue just before midnight Dec. 26. Gonzales is accused of threatening Masias and pointing a gun to her head. Police say he fired one round into the ground.

The sound of the gunshot caught the attention of Masias’ 15-year-old son, who was in another room. The teen “became fearful that Masias, his mother, was shot,” an email from the police department said. The boy went into the room and confronted Gonzales.

Police say Gonzales proceeded to hit the teen in the head with the gun and then placed its barrel on the boy’s stomach, firing one round.

The teen, whose name has not been released, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police say.

Gonzales was arrested shortly after the incident. He faces aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated child abuse charges. Gonzales was being held in the Hillsborough County Jail Tuesday without bond, according to jail records.

No further information is being released at this time.

Booking photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Jail