Teen Shoots Herself With Stolen AK-47, Will Face Criminal Charges

ATASCOCITA, TX — A teenage girl who shot herself while allegedly playing with an AK-47 could face criminal charges, police said. The 17-year-old girl, another 17-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old boy were apparently playing with the weapon on Tuesday evening in the 4000 block of Wintergreen Drive near Whispering Pines Elementary School, according to police.

When one of the girls tried to shove the rifle down her pants, the weapon discharged several times, hitting the girl in the right leg, police said.

A passerby heard the gunshot and found the girl wounded and applied pressure until help arrived.
According to reports, the girl initially told Harris County Constables that she’d been shot in a drive-by shooting.

Investigators later learned that the boy had taken the weapon, and tossed it in a storm drain.
Police recovered the rifle and determined it was reported stolen from a home in the 3900 block of Atascocita Road earlier that day.

"Constables are seeking charges for Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon and Burglary of a Habitation on the 17-year-old female who will remain unidentified at this time,” Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman said in a statement. “The juvenile male was arrested and booked into the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, charged with Tampering with Evidence and Burglary of a Habitation."

Officials said the injured girl is a student at Humble High School.

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