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Jul 6, 2009 5:55 pm US/Central
Boy Shot During July 4 Fireworks Improving
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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The boy was shot in the neck around 9 p.m. Saturday while attending a family party to celebrate the holiday.
CBS
A 14-year-old boy is recovering after being shot in the neck during a Fourth of July celebration.
"There were fireworks going off all around the neighborhood, I mean oh my gosh. It was just like every year," said Rick Wilson.
He lives across the street from where the Fourth of July party was taking place. It was a gathering of family and friends in this West St. Paul neighborhood.
Just before 9 o'clock the kids started shooting off fireworks in the street. That's when the 14-year-old was hit.
"He's just standing there one minute smiling," said Wilson, "and the next minute he's on the ground, bleeding."
Wilson called 911 while a family friend with military training treated the boy's wound until the ambulance arrived. There was confusion about what happened, and then they found a bullet.
Nearby neighbor Cary Schmidt was arrested, but released Monday without charges.
"If it wouldn't have hit the victim, it may have hit me or my kids and that's terrifying," said Wilson. "They watched a boy almost die on the sidewalk. That's not something that should go on at a family gathering on a holiday."
"For an individual, for a suspect, to take aim upon a crowd and hit my cousin in the throat, nearly fatally wounding him, is just beyond belief to our family that this individual within 48 hours, is walking our streets," said Benjamin Footh, the victim's cousin.
The victim was transferred from Regions Hospital to Gillette Children's Hospital. His condition was upgraded from critical to serious condition.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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