A Valley Grande teenager was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting his 18-year-old friend in the face, who was trying to calm him down after an argument with his mother.

According to Sgt. John Hatfield, a criminal investigator with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, a 16-year-old male has been charged with first-degree assault and is being held in the Dallas County Jail.

“On July 7, our units responded to Dogwood Lane, which is in the Valley Grande community, in reference to a gunshot victim,” Hatfield said. “When our units arrived we were able to locate a gunshot victim who was being transported by a private vehicle to the hospital.”

Hatfield said the 18-year-old victim, who lived across the street from the 16-year-old, told him in the hospital that he was trying to calm his friend down.

“He said the young man’s mother called and said that she had an altercation with her son and asked him to come over and try to diffuse the situation,” Hatfield said.

When the 18-year-old got to his friend’s house, he was already gone.

“A few minutes later the guy came back. He tried to tell him that he shouldn’t treat his mom like that. At that point, the guy left the yard at a high rate of speed attempting to run over the victim,” Hatfield said.

Hatfield said the 16-year-old missed the 18-year-old with his truck and went down the road.

“At that point he pulled out a shotgun. He fired one warning shot in the air and the second shot at the victim, striking him in the face and chest area with a 12-gauge shotgun that was loaded with birdshot,” Hatfield said.

According to Hatfield, a CAT scan revealed damage to the victim’s neck and lungs.

“I spoke to the family this morning, and they have put a chest tube in him because his lung has collapsed,” Hatfield said. “He also has partial paralysis of the vocal chords at this time.”

Hatfield said it was an unusual case because the victim and shooter were friends.

“They were buddies, and mom thought that he could help. They rode to school together, and both of them attend a local high school in Dallas County,” Hatfield said. “At that point, he just got to the point where he was that angry that nothing was going to diffuse it.”

Hatfield said the 16-year-old’s mother has cooperated throughout the investigation.

“She is upset about what her son did as any parent would be. At no time did she ever try to defend her son’s actions,” Hatfield said. “She realizes that her son did something very serious, and she has been very cooperative.”

The 16-year-old’s name has not been released because he is still a juvenile.

“It is an unfortunate situation, but this young man chose to take a firearm and fire it, and he struck another young man,” Hatfield said. “Now, he’s got to face the consequences.”

Hatfield said the 16-year-old will have a bond hearing Thursday morning at the Dallas County Courthouse.

“We will attempt to have the judge certify him as an adult, so he can stand trial as an adult,” Hatfield said. “It is my belief that anytime you put a firearm in your hand and point it at somebody, you have some type of intent. Was he trying to kill him? I don’t know, but he did fire a shot at him, and at that point you have to believe that his intent was to hurt him.”

The victim is currently in stable condition, according to Hatfield, and is expected to make a full recovery.