An Oklahoma man who who shot a 14-year-old boy in the back while he was playing “ding-dong ditch” on New Year’s Eve has not been arrested for the shooting, reports NewsOne 6.

According to police, Cole Peyton said he and two friends were ringing doorbells and running away well after midnight on New Year’s Eve. After ringing the bell at one house, one homeowner stepped out of his door and shot the teen once in the back and again in the arm as the honor student told his friends to run.

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Police were called to the scene for what was initially called a home invasion, but what they discovered was something entirely different.

“We saw three kids walking down by the newer houses. It was kind of odd, but didn’t think anything of it,” said neighbor Samantha Perry. “I mean, that’s just kids being kids right there, I don’t think there should’ve been anything like that involved.”

According to police, the three teens had already rung the doorbell at the shooter’s home earlier in the evening, but that there was no evidence that they had been attempting to break into homes.

“Currently, the investigation suggests that the juveniles were engaged in neighborhood pranks and not attempting to break into the residence,” said Chief of Police Steven W. Lemmings. “The investigation now centers around whether the homeowner’s use of deadly force was lawful or illegal. No arrests have been made at this point.”

At issue is the determination over whether the teen was trespassing when the homeowner opened fire.

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The teen was taken to a Tulsa hospital where doctors said the bullet that hit him in back passed through his liver before exiting his body.

Watch video below from NewsOne 6:

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