VALDOSTA — Three juveniles have been charged in a Sunday shooting which left one of the suspects injured.

Around 4:50 p.m., police, the fire department and EMTs headed to a home in the 600 block of Pineview Drive after an E911 caller said a 14-year-old boy had been shot, a Valdosta Police Department statement said.

Officers found the boy with a gunshot wound to the arm. EMTs took him to South Georgia Medical Center for a non-life threatening injury, the statement said.

Detectives, after sorting through a number of conflicting stories, determined that the 14-year-old and two 16-year-old boys were in a bedroom playing with a handgun when it accidentally went off, hitting the youngest boy, police said.

One of the 16-year-olds grabbed the gun and fled, tossing the firearm away. A police K9 unit found the gun in a creek. Police said the gun had been reported as stolen.

All three boys were charged with felony theft by receiving stolen property, misdemeanor reckless conduct and misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a person under 18 years of age; one of the 16-year-olds was also charged with felony tampering with evidence, the police statement said.

“With three juveniles playing with a stolen firearm inside of a residence, we are extremely fortunate that we did not have anyone more seriously injured.  Our detectives did an outstanding job identifying the false stories and continued to investigate, resulting in the recovery of the gun which could have been found by another child,” said Police Chief Leslie Manahan.

Anyone with information on this case should contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.