Man Mistakes Real Gun For BB Pistol, Shoots Friend In Buttocks

LOTHIAN, Md. (WJZ)—Prank gone wrong.  A Virginia man is charged with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment after police say he shot a man in lower torso with what he believed was a BB gun.

It happened just before 4 a.m. Wednesday in a home in 1300 block of Burton River Road in Lothian, Anne Arundel County.

The victim, a 21-year-old male from Edgewater, was asleep when 22-year-old Patrick Stapleton, of Ashland, Va., attempted to pull a prank.

Police say Stapleton grabbed a .40 caliber handgun, which he believed was a BB gun, and fired one round at the victim while he slept, striking him in the buttocks area.

The handgun is legally owned by the homeowner's son, who was not determined to be involved in the shooting.

The actual homeowner was not present during the incident.

The victim remains at Prince George's Hospital Center, where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The investigation is ongoing.