17-year-old badly hurt in Lexington shooting

A 17-year-old boy sustained a life-threatening gunshot wound in Lexington on Friday, and police were sorting out the circumstances.

The shooting happened in the basement of a house on Honey Jay Court, off Centre Parkway. Police were called at 5:30 p.m., Lt. Jackie Newman said.

Newman said the woman who lives at the house was upstairs when she heard a gunshot. When she went downstairs, she saw the teen with a gunshot wound to the head, Newman said.

The teen had been in the basement with the woman’s two sons, ages 23 and 13, and two other friends. The four ran before the woman came downstairs, and police were looking for them, Newman said.

Police hadn’t been able to talk to anyone who was with the teen when he was shot, so it wasn’t clear whether someone intentionally shot him or whether the shooting was an accident, Newman said.

The four people who fled left cell phones behind, but police didn’t find a gun. Police had applied for a search warrant Friday night to look for evidence in the house.

Police did not release the name of the teen who was shot. A neighbor said the boy had died, and police advised reporters to call Coroner Gary Ginn’s office for additional information. Ginn was not immediately available for comment.

The shooting scene is in the neighborhood of Tates Creek middle and high schools.

There was a play at the middle school and a basketball event at the high school, so officials took precautions after police alerted them to the shooting, said Lisa Deffendall, spokeswoman for the Fayettte County schools.

Both schools continued the activities but kept everyone inside and let no one in. The precaution lasted about a half-hour, Deffendall said.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 9:20 PM with the headline "17-year-old badly hurt in Lexington shooting."