Colorado teen hoping for lakeside homecoming photos shot in face by town councilman, police say

DENVER (AP) — A teenager scouting out a spot near a Colorado lake to take picturesque homecoming photos this weekend was shot in the face when the boyfriend of the property owner fired his weapon and yelled, “Oh sh__, my gun went off,” court records show.

The 17-year-old boy survived the shooting and told investigators he didn't believe the man intentionally shot him. But the man who shot him, Brent Metz, a councilman in a tiny town in the Denver metro area, was arrested on suspicion of charges that include first degree assault.

Metz did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A phone number or attorney for Metz were not immediately found. He is a councilman in the town of Mountain View.

The victim's friend told investigators they had hopped the fence on the property to ask the homeowners permission to take photos the coming weekend. Knocking on the door and looking around back to no avail, they headed back to their car to write a note for the homeowner.

Around that time, Metz received a call from his girlfriend, the property owner, who said there were trespassers, according to law enforcement. Metz drove up to the property as the two boys were sitting in their car.

Exiting his truck, Metz leveled a gun at the two boys and fired through the windshield, the teenagers told law enforcement. The shot left one of the boys bleeding profusely from his face, a piece of his mouth missing, as his friend ran around the car and used his shirt to stanch the bleeding, the friend told investigators.

Metz tried to help them, but the friend said he pushed Metz away.

A scan at the hospital showed a possible bullet fragment still in the teenager's head, according to court records. Metz was arrested on charges of first degree assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment.

Motorcyclists gesture to each other as they pass in the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road where a teenager, who was scouting for a location for lakeside homecoming photos, was shot in the face by a town councilman, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, near Conifer, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A motorist guides a pickup truck along the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road where a teenager, who was scouting for a location for lakeside homecoming photos, was shot in the face by a town councilman, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, near Conifer, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A pickup truck moves along the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road where a teenager, who was scouting for a location for lakeside homecoming photos, was shot in the face by a town councilman earlier this week, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, near Conifer, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A sign off Highway 285 points motorists to Pleasant Park Road where a teenager, who was scouting for a location for lakeside homecoming photos, was shot in the face earlier this week by a town councilman, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, near Conifer, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.

Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.

Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."

On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”

A German-based organization called Athiest Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not a part of the group and claimed that he made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, which it said were false.

“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms," the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks."

An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)

A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)