Boy puts gun in waistband, shoots himself by accident

A teenager put a gun in his waistband and accidentally shot himself, Redwood City police said.

Police were called to the area near the Marshall Street Garage, not far from the old courthouse, on Sunday night at 8:10 p.m. and found two teenagers in the area with “serious” but ultimately not life-threatening injuries, police said.

The first teenager, who is 15, suffered from a gunshot wound to his upper leg. Police suspect the gun fired when the boy put it in his waistband. However, the gun was not found. A friend of the teenager took it and left the area, according to police. What was found was a 9 mm casing.

A 14-year-old was found nearby with a stab wound to his upper back. Police currently believe that injury occurred in a separate incident from the accidental shooting.

Both teens were taken to the hospital.

This incident comes less than a month after four men and a 16-year-old boy were shot on May 7 while sitting on the curb drinking on the 400 block of Redwood Avenue. In that case, an unidentified man walked up to the group and began firing. All five were taken to the hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.

One year ago, attendees at Redwood City’s Fox Theater where Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai was speaking, were told to sit tight before leaving due to 150-200 teens across the street at Courthouse Square shooting off fireworks.

As officers arrived, the group began to throw things at them. Two of the teens began to fight the officers, police said at the time.