Police believe shooting of 13-year-old boy on JBLM land was accidental

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- Authorities are investigating after a 13-year-old boy was shot in the face Tuesday while trespassing on Joint Base Lewis-McChord property with two other teens.

Police said one of the boys had a firearm and it went off. It was not immediately clear who fired the shot or shots.

“It's still early but we think it was just an accident,” said Lakewood police Lt. John Unfred. “It was teenagers, probably not a lot of experience with guns.”

Police said the teens snuck onto JBLM through a hole in the fence near 150th Street SW and Woodbrook Drive SW around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Thomas Barham said the hole has been there for 15 years.

“My own daughter and my son, they’ve been out there,” he said.

Barham said the fence doesn’t lead directly onto the base, but a wooded area owned by JBLM.

“It's a nice area, the children have used it as a park for years.”

Q13 Fox News reached out to JBLM to ask if it was aware of the hole in the fence. But the base has not responded to our questions. So we asked police about the land.

“It's undeveloped through there, there's no buildings or roads in that general area. I suppose over time people have cut holes in it and accessed it,” Unfred said.

The 13-year-old wounded boy was transported to a Tacoma hospital where he was listed in serious condition.

Lakewood police were conducting the investigation with the FBI.

The wounded teen's 14-year-old brother and another 17-year-old boy were both detained and questioned about the shooting.

Police said the exact circumstances of the incident were still under investigation.

They said some evidence was recovered in Lakewood.