Fort Smith police said a 16-year-old was shot Friday and later arrested after witnesses told investigators that he had pointed a gun at another youth.
Sgt. Daniel Grubbs, a Fort Smith police spokesman, said in a news release that officers found the 16-year-old with a gunshot wound at a house on the 1300 block of North 36th Street around 1:45 p.m. The teenager had been shot in the left side of his midsection.
Police then took a 17-year-old boy into custody in the 3300 block of North L Street. The teen told police that he shot the 16-year-old in self-defense, saying the younger teen had pointed a gun at his head. Two witnesses also told police that the 16-year-old had leveled a gun at the 17-year-old's chest and head, Grubbs wrote.
The older teenager told police that the 16-year-old had ordered him to empty his pockets. As the 17-year-old obeyed, he also pulled a .38-caliber Taurus revolver from his pocket and shot the 16-year-old, then fled, Grubbs said.
The younger teenager didn't cooperate when he was interviewed by police, Grubbs said. He was charged with aggravated assault and was taken to the Sebastian County jail.
Investigators later found the .38-caliber revolver behind a house in the 1000 block of North 36th Street, and police released the 17-year-old after questioning him. Grubbs said police would secure a warrant to charge him as a minor in possession of a firearm.
The investigation was ongoing, police said.
Metro on 12/04/2016