Updated Oct 15, 2012 - 3:48 pm
Mammoth teenager is injured by homemade weapon
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MAMMOTH, Ariz. -- A juvenile needed surgery after he was shot in the left hand by a homemade weapon in the small Arizona town of Mammoth.
Pinal County Sheriff's officials say the 14-year-old boy was taken to a Tucson hospital Saturday. His name hasn't been released.
Authorities say the teen and his friend built the weapon from material found on the property where one of the boys lives.
They secured a short piece of pipe in a vise and stuffed shells into one end before striking the primer end of the ammunition with a small axe.
"They shot into a wood dresser about 20 feet away," said Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. "All the while, the guardian was just inside that trailer, who is a prohibited possessor. He can't have firearms or ammunition on his property."
Authorities say when one of the juveniles put a 12-gauge shotgun slug in the pipe and attempted to discharge it, the round blew up and shrapnel became lodged in the palm of one of the boys.
KTAR's Martha Maurer contributed to this report.
