Leyland airgun incident: 11-year-old boy shot in head, police identify minor of interest | Liverpool Echo

A young man has been identified as a “person of interest” after an 11-year-old boy was shot in the head and suffered a fractured skull, Lancashire Police said.

The 11-year-old, who was playing football with friends in the back garden of a house in Leyland, Lancashire, on Monday is recovering in hospital. He was shot in the head with a metal pellet believed to have been fired from an air gun after climbing a fence to look for the ball.

On Thursday, Lancashire Police said: “Following a series of enquiries, we have now identified someone of interest to our investigation and we will be speaking to them in due course. That person is another minor”. The victim was injured after the ball went over a fence at around 7.20pm on Monday.

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As he climbed the fence to look over, the boy was hit in the head by a metal pellet fired from what is believed to be an air gun. He is now recovering from surgery at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool.

Detective Inspector Paul Mulrooney said: “I am grateful to those who have come forward with information so far. We have now identified someone and we will speak to that person in due course. We are confident there is no greater risk to anyone in fortunately the victim’s injuries are not serious and he is recovering well.”

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