YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Youngstown police now say there was no masked gunman who ran into a south side church during a youth program shooting a teenager in the leg on Thursday night.
Detectives say the shooting was actually the result of an accidental discharge of the gun by the teenage victim himself.
According to police, the 15-year-old tried to put the handgun in his pants pocket and that's when the gun accidentally fired.
Authorities are now trying to determine where the teen gained access to the weapon.
Criminal charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the pastor of the church where the accidental shooting happened says no one should be afraid to bring their children to the youth program. But he says the issue of teens and guns has to be addressed.
"It's never good for teenagers to have guns and this is a chronic problem in our city. So the fact that there was a gun on the premises is not a good thing and it's going to take a whole community to deal with our young people on how dangerous this can be and how problems can occur," said Pastor Paul Heine.
Heine is the pastor of Martin Luther Lutheran Church, located at 420 Clearmont Drive in Youngstown. He says the youth basketball program began about three months ago, and it will continue. But he would like to see parents and other adults volunteer to help manage the program.
The church would also like to start a youth program for teenage females.
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