A 17-year-old boy is dead after a gunshot he fired at a butane tank ricocheted and hit him in the head.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino tells The Monitor of McAllen that he believes the shooting of Israel Torres just before midnight Monday near Alamo was accidental and influenced by alcohol.
He says he was urging his girlfriend to shoot the .380-caliber, semiautomatic handgun in his family's backyard, but she refused.
He withdrew the gun's clip and fired once at a butane tank, hitting himself with the ricochet.
According to The Monitor, Torres' father was also in the backyard at the time and was "highly intoxicated."
Investigators have not found any evidence of foul play, the paper reported. Officials have not said if any charges will be filed against the father for negligence, but did say that the entire family is in the country illegally.
