A teenager is battling to save his sight after a friend accidentally shot him in the face with a BB gun during a bungled ‘childish prank.’
Apprentice electrician Ryley Walton, 18, was hit in the right eye by a stray pellet after it was fired by his friend Morgan Kelly in Westhoughton, Greater Manchester.
Kelly, now 20, had shot at a fence in a bid to frighten Walton as he walked to his house, but one of the pellets slipped through a gap in the wooden slats and struck the teenager.
Ryley suffered bleeding and a torn retina following the incident, and has still not regained his full vision despite undergoing laser surgery.
He faces further treatment which has been delayed amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apprentice electrician Ryley Walton (left), 18, was hit in the right eye by a stray pellet after it was fired by his friend Morgan Kelly (right) in Westhoughton, Greater Manchester
Following the shooting, Kelly sent a text to his friend claiming he was ‘just shooting at the fence panels to scare you with the sound but a few bullets went through.’
Kelly admitted causing grievous bodily harm at Bolton Crown Court and was ordered to be electronically tagged for four months and pay Ryley £1,000 in compensation.
He was also sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.
The incident took place on February 6 last year, when Ryley visited Kelly’s home at 8.30pm.
Megan Tollitt, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant was in the garden of his address. Mr Walton heard a cracking noise coming from the back gate and also giggling at the side of the house.
‘As he walked towards the back gate the defendant discharged a BB gun towards the fence panels and a pellet from the gun hit Mr Walton in his right eye.
‘The defendant and another friend helped Mr Walton into the house and put ice on his eye. The defendant repeatedly told his friend, “I’m sorry” and asked whether he could open his eye.
‘After 30 minutes Mr Walton did open his eye but it was red and there appeared to be blood in it.
Ryley suffered bleeding and a torn retina following the incident, and has still not regained his full vision despite undergoing laser surgery
Kelly, now 20, had shot at a fence in a bid to frighten Walton as he walked to his house, but one of the pellets slipped through a gap in the wooden slats and struck the teenager
‘He attended the Royal Bolton Hospital that evening with his brother but his vision progressively got worse and at one point he couldn’t see at all through his right eye and he feared he would never be able to see again.’
Doctors discovered bleeding within the eye and a torn retina.
Ryley, now 19, also complained of ‘wavy lines’ and ‘floaters’ in his vision and needed emergency laser treatment, but problems with his vision remain ongoing.
He said: ‘I have felt really anxious about this situation of being shot and I was in pain. Although Morgan was a friend, those split-second actions have caused me life-changing injuries.
‘I have been getting frustrated with every day activities and trying to do work because I can’t focus properly. My vision is still distorted and I have to apply eye drops four times a day.
Kelly admitted causing grievous bodily harm at Bolton Crown Court
‘I still don’t know if I will be able to have further surgery because everything is on hold due t the pandemic. I don’t know whether I will regain full sight in my right eye.’
He added: ‘This injury has set back by my career path. When I try to do jobs and the lighting is bright it really disturbs my vision.
‘The recovery timescale is indefinite but if the blood doesn’t dissipate I will need further surgery and I have a review in nine months time.’
After the incident, Kelly sent his friend several text messages apologising, offering to give his friend money and asking him not to report it to police.
One message read: ‘I was just shooting at the fence panels to scare you with the sound but a few bullets went through.’
He was later arrested by police and confessed to the shooting, admitting his behaviour was ‘reckless’ and said he was ‘ashamed of himself.’
Kelly later described his actions as a ‘childish and foolish prank’.
Steven Swift, defending, said Kelly was ‘genuinely remorseful’. He added: ‘It is described as a childish prank but my client accepts it was mores serious than that.
Judge Graeme Smith said: ‘You may have thought the bullet would hit the fence and scare Ryley and you were not intending to hurt your friend but this was an act of extreme foolishness and recklessness.
‘It was potentially as we’ve seen very dangerous.
‘The bullet had the misfortune of hitting him in the eye, almost the worst place it could have hit him and it has had significant ongoing effects.’
