Police: 10-year-old boy shot with own gun in robbery attempt

Seattle police said Wednesday morning that a 10-year-old boy shot in the arm in the Rainier Valley is a suspect who intended to rob a teen whom he and other children surrounded on a Metro bus.

When the events unfolded on Tuesday night, police reported that the 10-year-old boy had been shot in the arm and that a teenager was the shooter.

But now police say the 10-year-old is facing a criminal charge and that he was shot accidentally with his own gun as the teen was defending himself. Several other children, none older than 15, were involved in the attempted robbery, police said.

Around 8 p.m. two officers in a patrol car were approaching Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street.

They saw one juvenile male run across Henderson to a bus stop on Rainier and also saw a fight involving five males at the bus stop.

The officers broke up the fight. Then the 10-year-old walked up to them, holding his arm and telling them that he had been shot.

The boy also pointed to his alleged attacker: a teenager running on Rainier. He was carrying a backpack.

Officers chased him down and took him into custody. Inside the backpack they found a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

Firefighters treated the 10-year-old, then took him to Harborview Medical Center. His injuries aren't life-threatening.

The 17-year-old the boy accused and three males involved in the fight were taken in for questioning. And detectives with the gang unit began investigating.

What emerged was a starkly different story from the first impression.

The assault took place on a Metro bus.

A group of boys, ages 10, 12, 14 and 15, confronted the 17-year-old. The 10-year-old demanded to know where he is from, then ordered him to empty his pockets.

The boys surrounded him, and the teen feared that he was about to be robbed.

The 10-year-old took off his backpack and unzipped it, then reached inside.

The teen thought he was about to be shot, so he grabbed the boy in bear hug.

The 10-year-old's hand was pinned in the backpack, and a shot went off in the ensuing struggle.

The 17-year-old thought he had been shot. When he realized that he wasn't, he grabbed the backpack and jumped off the bus.

The other kids assaulted him, but he managed to break free.

Detectives released the 17-year-old, and police say the 10-year-old faces robbery and weapons charges after he is discharged from Harborview.

A spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office said the 10-year-old and his accomplices will likely make a first appearance in juvenile court on Thursday.