An Arkansan arrested in the shooting of a teen told police the gunfire was accidental, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported.
Keonte Deshon Rauls, 18, of Hot Springs faces a first-degree battery charge, records show.
A 17-year-old Pearcy resident was shot in the face Wednesday morning at his residence on Ryan Road, Arkansas Online previously reported.
According to probable cause affidavits cited by the Sentinel-Record, the Garland County sheriff's office got a call from a woman who said her son had been shot and that she was driving him to the hospital.
The woman, later identified as 36-year-old Christine Augusta Galo, 36, was told to pull over, and emergency workers transported the injured teen, the newspaper reported. His injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.
Investigators then reportedly questioned Galo and Rauls, who was also found in the car.
The Sentinel-Record reported that Galo said she was in the shower when she heard "a pop." When she came out, Rauls told her: "I didn't mean to shoot him. I didn't know it was loaded," according to an affidavit.
Authorities said Rauls told investigators he was sitting in a chair in the living room when he accidentally shot the victim in the face.
A handgun and a shotgun were reportedly recovered in home, and the shotgun had a shortened barrel.
Both were arrested. Galo faces charges of two counts of possession of firearms by certain persons, one count of criminal use of a prohibited weapon and a misdemeanor count of obstructing government operations.
As of Friday evening, both remained at the Garland County jail, records show.
