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Accidental Shooting Leaves Teen Gravely Wounded

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By FRANK GLUCK / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

A laid-back morning for three teenagers turned tragic Thursday when a 19-year-old Bradenton man accidentally shot his friend in the head while retrieving a loaded rifle, authorities said.

The victim's injury is life-threatening.

Kyle Bolles, 19, Francisco Vazquez, 18, and a 16-year-old girl had been listening to music in the bedroom of Bolles' duplex at 3716 Seventh Ave. W. about 10 a.m., investigators said.

Bolles, who had cleaned the .22-caliber rifle the night before, remembered it was on the top of a bunk bed and climbed up to put it away, Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said.

Bolles apparently slipped on the way down, causing the rifle to fire at close range, striking Vazquez, who was on the bottom bunk next to the girl, Bristow said.

The girl, a Manatee High School student, was not injured.

"These three were all friends, so it's a very tragic thing," Bristow said. "But a lot of it is just common sense: You don't leave loaded weapons lying around."

Vazquez, of Palmetto, was taken by ambulance to a Bayflite helicopter on the football field at nearby Manatee High School.

School district spokeswoman Margi Nanney said a student named Francisco Vazquez is enrolled as a senior, but she said officials are not commenting on the shooting.

He remained in critical condition Thursday at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

Bolles could be charged with a crime, though he was not by late Thursday. The girl, whom investigators did not identify, is unlikely to face prosecution, Bristow said.

Bolles was in tears as he sat, face in hands, in a deputy's patrol car before he was taken from the scene.

Patricia McCombs, who identified herself as a family friend, said Bolles lives with his mother and 8-year-old sister at the duplex. Neither was home at the time of the shooting, sheriff's deputies said.

McCombs described Bolles as a good person who had participated in the JROTC program while attending Manatee High School. She said she does not know Vazquez or the 16-year-old girl.

Bradenton City Council member Marianne Barnebey was at the scene with her husband, Mark, comforting a woman who Bristow said was connected to the family of one of the teenagers. Barnebey declined comment.

Thursday's shooting continued a spate of gun-related violence in Manatee County in recent days that has left two men dead. Those cases resulted in homicide investigations.

Even if authorities determine Bolles did not intend to injure or kill the victim, he could be prosecuted on manslaughter and gun-related charges.

Proving manslaughter would require convincing jurors that Bolles was reckless and acted without regard for anyone around him.

Thursday's shooting is the second of two recent accidental shootings in the area. This week, authorities arrested a teenager who accidentally shot a friend outside a McDonald's in Ellenton.

Sheriff's officials said the teenager was showing off the gun when it discharged. The victim's wound was not fatal.

During the summer, a 12-year-old Bradenton boy died after accidentally shooting himself at his father's home. This week, authorities charged the father with improperly storing a loaded gun. The man, Shaun Poag Sr., was not charged with causing the boy's death.

Staff writer Michael A. Scarcella contributed to this report.

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