ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two teens face charges after a girl was shot and seriously injured early Sunday morning in Allentown, according to authorities.
Because the defendants — a female from Allentown and a male from Lansford, Carbon County — are charged as juveniles, their names were not released, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said Monday in a news release.
Police were called just before 2 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 100 block of Pine Street, where officers found a girl suffering from a gunshot wound to her face, officials said.
She was taken to a local hospital in critical but stable condition, the release states.
"A Lansford teen handed the Allentown juvenile a gun — equipped with a laser sight — and told her it was unloaded; she pulled the trigger while pointing it around the room."Lehigh County District Attorney's Office press release
Witnesses reported the girl was shot while several people were hanging out in a bedroom at the home.
The Lansford teen handed the Allentown juvenile a gun — equipped with a laser sight — and told her it was unloaded, the district attorney’s office said.
While pointing the gun around the room, she pulled the trigger, the office said.
The Lansford juvenile picked up the gun after the shooting and fled the room with all but one person, who called 911 and tried to help the victim until police arrived, officials said.
Authorities allege he threatened the Allentown teen who fired the gun “not to speak to police or she would be beaten,” the release states.
The Allentown juvenile was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possessing a firearm as a minor and recklessly endangering another person.
The minor from Lansford was charged with possessing a firearm as a minor, tampering with evidence, witness intimidation, and five counts of reckless endangerment, the district attorney’s office said.