Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Lothian Shooting Result of a 'Prank'
Anne Arundel County investigators said the shooter mistook the handgun for a BB gun, and meant for the shooting to be a prank.

(UPDATE: June 5, 3:15 p.m.)
Anne Arundel County police charged a Virginia man with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment after investigators say he shot another man in his sleep, mistaking a .40-caliber handgun for a BB gun.
The victim, a 21-year-old from Edgewater, suffered a gunshot to the buttocks, police said in a press release.
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In an earlier report, the three other occupants of the house told police they heard a loud pop early Wednesday, while the victim was alone in a bedroom. But through questioning, police say one of the men shot the victim as a prank, thinking it was a BB gun.
The gun is legally owned by a resident of the house, and the homeowner was not around during the time of the incident.
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Police charged Patrick Stapleton, 22, of Ashland, VA, with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
The original story is below.
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Anne Arundel County police are investigating what they call a "possible shooting" in Lothian, after officers found a man suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the lower torso early Wednesday.
The 21-year-old victim is being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Prince George's Hospital Center, according to an AACOPD press release.
Shortly before 4 a.m., police responded to a home on the 1300 block of Burton River Road for a report of a possible shooting. The officers found the victim suffering from wounds to his lower torso, and questioned three other people in the home.
The three other people—two men and a 17-year-old girl—told police the victim was in an upstairs bedroom alone when they heard a loud pop. Officers then transported the other occupants to the southern district police station for questioning by detectives.
"There is nothing at this time to indicate that this was a random incident," said police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy. "The investigation is currently active and ongoing."
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