Town council member shoots teen seeking spot for homecoming photo shoot in the face, police say

A Colorado town council member, Brent Metz, 38, is facing serious charges after allegedly shooting a 17-year-old teenager in the face, who had been hoping to use Metz’s property for a high school homecoming photo shoot.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred when Metz, reportedly opened fire on two teenagers who were sitting in a car near his property line.

Deputies were dispatched to the scene following an emergency call about trespassers. Upon arrival, they discovered two vehicles by the side of the road. A deputy approaching the scene found a teenage boy bleeding heavily from the face, with another teen pressing a T-shirt against the wounds to stop the bleeding. Metz was standing with the two boys at the time.

The injured teen told the deputy that Metz had shot him through the windshield of the car, causing the injuries. The sheriff’s office later confirmed that the teens had visited the property, hoping to get permission to use it as a backdrop for their homecoming pictures.

Before the shooting, the teens had parked by the gate, hopped the fence, and tried to locate the homeowner. When they were unable to find anyone, they returned to their car and began writing a note to ask permission to use the property. It was at this point that Metz pulled up in a truck, got out, and fired through the car’s windshield, striking the 17-year-old.

The gun was found inside Metz’s truck, and the injured teen was taken to the hospital. As of Wednesday, he was still undergoing treatment.

One of the teens told authorities that after the shooting, Metz exclaimed, “My gun went off!” The sheriff’s office clarified that the boys were not trespassing when the shooting occurred, as they had already returned to their car on a public roadway.

“These kids were no longer on the property,” said Jacki Kelley, the public information officer for the sheriff’s office. “Any threat he thought he had was no longer on his property,” Kelley added.

The boys would not face charges, as there appeared to be no malicious intent behind their actions. They were simply attempting to contact the homeowner and had no criminal intentions, according to the sheriff’s office.

Metz, who is serving on the Mountain View Town Council until 2027, has been charged with assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm and reckless endangerment. Court records show that he has a hearing scheduled for September 17th, though jail records did not indicate he was in custody as of Thursday.

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The Town Council has not commented on the incident.