SYRACUSE, NY -- A 16-year-old boy was in University Hospital awaiting surgery this afternoon after a BB he shot ricocheted off a tree and struck close to his eye, Syracuse police said.

The boy, whom police have not immediately identified, was wounded about 2:30 p.m. in the backyard of 203 Crafton Ave., Lt. Joe Cecile, speaking for Syracuse police, said. He had been shooting a BB rifle with his uncle when a shot ricocheted off a tree, Cecile said.

The BB lodged very close to the boy's eye, and may have entered the eye socket, but did not seem to affect the eye, Cecile said.