By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Authorities in St. John say a 10-year-old Garyville boy was hospitalized Saturday evening after his 11-year-old brother accidentally shot him in the shoulder while the boys were playing with a pellet gun.

Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the St. John Sheriff’s Office, said the boys, whose names were not released, were playing in a field behind their home on Tamplain Lane when the incident occurred. He said the boy fired one shot that pierced the victim’s upper left shoulder. The pellet traveled through the muscle near the left lung, where air became trapped in the wound.

The boys’ mother told deputies the 10-year-old ran into the house around 5:40 p.m. Saturday and said that his older brother shot him with the pellet rifle. According to a report on the incident, the mother and stepfather immediately took the boy to St. James Hospital for medical attention. Members of the emergency room staff notified the St. John Sheriff’s Office about the shooting.

Clement said the boy was transported to Ochsner Hospital Pediatric ICU, where he was held overnight for observation and released the next day. Clement said no charges were filed.