OLYPHANT — Three juveniles are in custody after a 14-year-old shot a 12-year-old boy in the chest Sunday night in Olyphant, according to Lackawanna County district attorney Brian Gallagher.
Police responded to the 100 block of Susquehanna Avenue near the intersection of Nestor Chylak Drive around 8:30 p.m. Sunday for reports of a male with a gunshot wound to the chest, drawing a significant police presence to Olyphant. In a texted statement Monday morning, Gallagher said the 12-year-old victim, whom he did not identify, is in critical but stable condition.
The shooter is a 14-year-old male, Gallagher said. The district attorney’s office is charging him with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related counts, he said.
Pennsylvania law prohibits authorities from charging the juvenile directly as an adult, so his case will begin in the juvenile system due to his age, Gallagher said. However, the district attorney’s office intends to file a petition transferring him to adult court and prosecuting him as an adult, he said.
All three juvenile males are in juvenile detention, Gallagher said. He did not identify the juveniles.
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