WINONA, Minn. – Police arrested a 17-yrear-old boy for shooting a younger girl in an eye with a BB gun Saturday night at the old Madison School playground on the West Side. The boy was hiding at a teen-age friend’s home several blocks away. The arrest was without resistance, police said. The girl, meanwhile, was recovering. An emergency room doctor said he BB creased an eyelid but didn’t puncture the eyeball. The eyeball, however, may have been bruised. The girl, age 14, was referred to an eye specialist. The boy was arrested in the 150 block East Sanborn Street. He was booked on charges of felony assault and also threats of violence, a gross misdemeanor. Because the Winona jail isn’t certified for minors, the boy was transported elsewhere. Court appearances, however, will be in Winona. Police have been stymied by some particulars: Was the shooting horseplay? Anger? Aimed on purpose? The shot was fired from two or three steps away, police were told by kids who were hanging out on the playground and saw it happen. There was no reason to believe alcohol or drugs were involved, police said. The Winona County attorney took the police report and was assessing whether to prosecute the boy as a juvenile or adult. Although jailed elsewhere, the boy will be transported back and forth for court appearances in Winona.
Madison school. Built 1932. Sold for private development in 2013. Playground equipment is maintained for little kids on a chipwood field. Also a neighborood teen gathering place.