MADISON, W.Va. — A 15-year-old boy died after being shot in the head with a bow and arrow in what West Virginia state police described as a tragic horse-playing accident.
“Just some juvenile kids messing around with a bow and arrow, at which time they started shooting at each other,” said Sgt. Charles Sutphin. “They were shooting at each other’s feet and so forth, and unfortunately one of them wound up being shot in the head with it.”
The victim was identified as Caleb Fairchild. There were three teenagers involved in the incident, all age 15, according to the investigators who responded. There were no adults in the vicinity at the time.
The incident happened Saturday night at a home on Lee Miller Road off U.S.Route 119 near the Logan County line. One of the teens lived at the home.
Fairchild was a student at Chapmanville Middle School.
Grief counselors and a pastor were on campus Monday to help classmates deal with the loss.
There was no decision on whether the surviving juveniles will face charges.
“We’ve been in consultation with the Boone County prosecutor’s office and the investigation is in it’s infant stages,” said Sutphin. “If there’s charges, we’ll file them at a later time, but there’s none at this time.”