shooting

14-Year-Old Boy Struck by Stray Bullet Inside Maryland Home: Police

"Our children should not have to fear gun violence in this community and in their homes due to poor decisions of adults"

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A 14-year-old boy was playing a video game in his own home in Beltsville, Maryland, Thursday night when a bullet flew through a wall and hit him, police say. 

The high school sophomore was taken to a hospital with injuries and was still recovering a day later. 

Family friend Joel Holder said the teen was in an upstairs bedroom of the home on Marie Street, near Little Paint Branch Park, when he was hit at about 11 p.m.

“The round came through and he started screaming,” Holder said. “That’s how I knew something was wrong. He started screaming.”

The teen was hit in the abdomen, Holder said. He was in stable condition as of midday Friday, according to Prince George’s County police. 

Police found three spent shell casings in the park. Who fired the shots and why is still a mystery. 

"Detectives do not believe the victim was the intended target," police said in a statement.

A teenager was playing video games when a stray bullet struck him inside a home, authorities say. News4's Justin Finch reports.

An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

The teen and his family only moved to the home about a week ago, Holder said. 

The shooting victim is a school athlete and “good kid,” he said.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks called the shooting a “horrific act of violence.”

“The depravity and violence we are seeing across the country, and in our community, must stop. Our children should not have to fear gun violence in this community and in their homes due to poor decisions of adults,” she said in a statement. 

Alsobrooks asked anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.

The shooting comes about a month after a 12-year-old girl was shot by a suspect firing from the sunroof of a moving car in Capitol Heights, police said. The girl was waiting in a restaurant and not the intended target, police said.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.

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