17-year-old shot in the face looking for spot to take homecoming photos

DENVER ( KDVR ) — A 17-year-old boy was shot in the face by a town of Mountain View council member on Tuesday in Jefferson County after a homeowner reported trespassers, according to the sheriff’s office.

Brent Metz, 38, was arrested on counts of first-degree assault and illegal discharge of a firearm and two counts each of felony menacing and reckless endangerment. Metz has been a town council member since at least 2021.

The incident was reported to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at about 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday in the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road after the homeowner reported two trespassers on her property, the sheriff’s office said. The homeowner also called her boyfriend about the trespassers.

Deputies arrived to find two cars parked on the side of Pleasant Park Road. Two juveniles and a man were there, with one of the teenage boys bleeding heavily from his face. The second juvenile was applying pressure to his friend’s wounds with a T-shirt, according to the sheriff’s office.

The teen who had been shot told deputies that Metz shot him through the windshield of his car. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

Before his transport, the boy told deputies they had driven to the property to see if they would be allowed to use it as a location for homecoming photos. The boys parked at the home’s gate and jumped the fence, the sheriff’s office said, and walked up to the house to speak with the homeowner. When no one appeared home, they walked the property to try and locate someone there.

The boys did not locate anyone, so they went back to their car to write a note for the homeowner. While doing this, Metz pulled up next to them. The boys said they had never seen the man, but he exited the truck he was driving and fired a round through the windshield, hitting the 17-year-old driver’s face. The weapon was located inside Metz’s truck.

The sheriff’s office said the 17-year-old sustained serious injuries and is still in the hospital.

“These kids were no longer on the property by the time the homeowner arrived,” Jacki Kelley, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, told FOX31’s Gabby Easterwood. “They were in the car writing a note on a public roadway. So any threat that he thought he may have to deal with was no longer on his property.”

FOX31 asked whether they expected to charge the teens for the original trespassing.

“There’s nothing about this that appears to be malicious, with any intent to commit crimes when they jumped over that fence and went to contact that homeowner. It doesn’t exist as far as we can tell. So likely not going to be charging these kids with trespassing,” Kelley said.

The investigation is ongoing. FOX31 reached out to the town of Mountain View for comment on this situation, and the town said it does not have any comments or statements at this time.

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