A Colorado teen scouting locations for a homecoming photoshoot was shot in the face on September 10th by a local town council member. 

The 17-year-old told authorities that he and a friend parked on a public road and hopped a gate at a Conifer residence, 30 miles southwest of Denver, hoping to ask the owner’s permission to take homecoming photos on the property. The teens walked up the driveway and around the property but could not locate the homeowner before returning to their vehicle. 

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the teens were preparing to leave a note at the property when a truck pulled up and the driver, Brent Metz, got out and shot through their vehicle’s windshield striking the 17-year-old in the face.

Metz, the 38-year-old boyfriend of the homeowner had been alerted to the property by his girlfriend who was not home but saw the teens on her security system. The homeowner also notified police about a pair of trespassers and authorities were dispatched to the scene. 

When officers arrived, they found the boy “bleeding heavily from his face” while his friend used a T-shirt to apply pressure to the wound. 

According to the arrest report obtained by CBS, the victim did not think he was shot intentionally, stating that he heard Metz say “Oh s–t, my gun went off.” The teen also told authorities that Metz tried to help, but the other boy, a 15-year-old childhood friend, pushed him away asking why he had shot his friend.

Officers found the gun in Metz’s truck but have yet to identify the make and model. 

Metz was sworn in last year as a member of Mountain View Town Council, a town with just over 500 residents. As of September 18th, his charges were lessened to second-degree assault after initially being charged with first-degree reckless conduct. First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King noted that, based on the victim’s statements to police, there is no evidence that Metz acted with extreme indifference. He faces four felony charges, including menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm.

“This underscores the risk of confronting trespassers on your property even though you may be correct in doing so. Accidents happen, and in this case, it does not appear that a self-defense claim can be made,” according to Douglas Richards of the Richards Carrington law firm in Denver, Colorado.

Officers confirmed the teens’ story, finding the written note to the property owner at the scene.

This unfortunate incident could have been avoided in a number of ways. First, never jump over anyone’s gate or fence uninvited, even with the best intentions. If a gate is closed, and there is no call box present, leave a note and hope to receive contact. Second, the gate to a property is a great place for a camera-equipped doorbell system, giving an unexpected visitor the option to attempt contact without intruding on the property. Lastly, although a confrontation of this sort comes with assorted unknowns, stepping out of a vehicle with your gun drawn may not be the best decision. If there is no imminent danger on the scene but you sense the possibility of having to use deadly force, perhaps it is a better idea to wait for the authorities to arrive. It’s important to note, while the Castle Doctrine, where in place, allows a person to defend themselves in the home for the simple act of illegally entering the home, there are virtually no states that have laws that allow property owners or someone defending a property boundary to shoot a person for simply trespassing. 

54 COMMENTS

  1. “This underscores the risk of confronting trespassers on y̶o̶u̶r̶ someone else’s property”.

    Physical and financial risks indeed.

  2. “This unfortunate incident could have been avoided in a number of ways. First, never jump over anyone’s gate or fence uninvited, even with the best intentions.”

    Pretty much it, right *there*…

    • A bit of overreacting? However jumping a fence & trespassing is as dumb as you can get. People are wary of male teenager’s period. And chasing & shooting through a windshield is a crime period. Glad I didn’t get a shot as a teen but I didn’t hang out with my “buddies” when they burned a po-leece car that had been damaged in an accident. Saddled with felonies except for the youngest idiot😧

      • I did get shot at as a teen when we were caught stealing watermelons late one night. It was certainly a shotgun as we could hear the shot rattling off the watermelon plants. Luckily no one was injured, but we did deserve it.

        • No you didn’t deserve it! And it may have very well been a warning shot. Happened to me and a friend when we were playing in an old mans cars he had on the back 20. Not stealing just pretending to drive them, being 7 years old.

    • Fence/gate or not. Stay the hell off other peoples property unless you’re invited.

      If there is no fence or there is an unlocked walk thru gate and there is a sidewalk that leads to the front door, you may use the sidewalk to approach the front door and then return by the same route to the street. You may not deviate from that path- walk up a driveway, on the grass, traipse around to the back door, look in the garage, wander around for any reason. Are kiddies not taught this today?

      • I’ll remember that on Halloween, little m0therf*ckers better stay off the grass, driveway, and anything else that isn’t a sidewalk. They and their parents will get blasted.

        Had a guy look in my garage to see if I was home one time……
        Last mistake he ever made.

      • I’ve had people on my property looking for dogs that got loose. Some asked permission some (mostly kids) didn’t. It’s a nice neighborhood, I haven’t had to kill anyone one.

        Yet

    • The teens walked up the driveway and around the property but could not locate the homeowner before returning to their vehicle.

      According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the teens were preparing to leave a note at the property…

      How about don’t shoot at people simply because they’re on a piece of dirt they don’t have title to? Lock him up and throw away the key.

    • And keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Treat all guns as though they are loaded.

      Also know your target and what is beyond it.

  3. This idiot is going to pay big time- I have dealt with dozens of such incidents as a cop and a property owner. In 99 per cent of the incidents folks reacted well and sometimes made new friends and often counseled young people. Some moron with anger issues who assumes his standing is greater than it is and who is consumed with fear does things like this.

    They may put him in a cell with Studs McDick to change his attitude.

  4. It sounds as if the victims were in their vehicle outside the gate at the time of the shooting.

    Even if the homeowner or her agent had been justified employing lethal force in defense of property, that justification was no longer present when the intruder had crossed the gate and had returned to the public highway.

  5. “Oh s–t, my gun went off.”

    Noooooo. Your gun did what you told it to do when you pulled the trigger.

    Did not realize you pulled the trigger???
    Oh…a complete lack of gun control.

    Oh! Pointing your firearm at someone who poses no immediate threat?
    So, your forgot the rules of gun safety, didn’t you?

    They were an immediate threat because they could have run you down?
    Did you step in front of their vehicle?

    Yeah, the kids were dumb. They are kids. But it seems the shooter’s adrenaline overcame any training he may have had.

    • Reminds me of a similar scene in Pulp Fiction where another unfortunate soul got shot in the face.

      I still use that scene when teaching gun safety as he (and this joker) broke all three rules at the same time.

  6. Hard lesson to learn. Don’t trespass on private property and be aware of your surroundings. What Metz did was wrong, but he was reacting to the teens’ actions.

    This may sound like blaming the victim, but there are certain things you do not do. I’ve had people trespassing on my property a few times over the last several years. One was a worker for a local businessmen, actually measuring and surveying my property. His excuse was “I work for Mr. Yada-yada.” I said “I don’t give a f* who you work for, GTFO of here.”

    I’m always armed (concealed) when I confront these trespassers, but a little more level-headed than Metz. After the second such occurrence, I incurred the expense to post “no trespassing” signage around all of my acreage, but it seems some people can’t read, and it happened again. The last was a tatted up fellow who looked like a cartel member. My neighbors spotted him before I did and gave me a call. They also assisted in moving the fellow along and out of the area.

    Don’t trespass on private property. It’s your responsibility to know where you are. I’ve worked too hard and put up with too much BS to chance someone trespassing on my property with God-knows what motive.

    • I said “I don’t give a f* who you work for, GTFO of here.”

      Land s-u-r-v-e-y-o-r-s are allowed to trespass because their job would be impossible without doing so. It’s amazing how little respect people have for workers trying to do their job.

      Arizona?
      § 33-104

      • Interesting, I agree with you on this comment, and I agree with you on your earlier comment about locking the shooter up and throwing away the key.

        It’s attempted murder, nothing less.

  7. “a truck pulled up and the driver, Brent Metz, got out and shot through their vehicle’s windshield striking the 17-year-old in the face“

    Attempted murder.

    Of course, he’s a member of the protected class so…

    “his charges were lessened to second-degree assault“

    Of course, immediately after pulling the trigger he yelled “whoops-a-daisy, my bad!” so everything is much better now.

    He hunted them down just like those three Aryans did Ahmaud Arbery.

    • Protected class? You mean an anti Israeli college professor? A race hustler? A democratic party official? An antifa member looting and burning a minority owned business?

      biden/harris/zuckerberg colluding to destroy free speech? I’m sorry, miner. You’re going to have to be more specific.

      • How is it not attempted premeditated murder?

        He was alerted to their presence, armed himself with a lethal firearm, went to their location and shot the young person in the face.

        But I understand, you are just a dupe of the patriarchal hierarchy, enjoying the privileges awarded to you as a member of the protected class.

        “you take everything out of context“

        So what context am I missing?

        What ‘context’ would authorize this perpetrator to hunt down this teenager and shoot him in the face?

        • “How is it not attempted premeditated murder?”

          No intent, pre-planning, and lack of (extreme) indifference (indicating no intent or per-meditation).

          Which you would have known if you had included the context in the article instead of cherry picking out of context.

          Learn what context means Miner49er

          • correction for “No intent, pre-planning, and lack of (extreme) indifference (indicating no intent or per-meditation).”

            should have been…

            No intent, no pre-planning, and lack of (extreme) indifference (indicating also no intent and premeditation).

          • “No intent, pre-planning, and lack of (extreme) indifference”

            No premeditation? He had been contacted, made aware of the teens presence and made a conscious decision to arm himself, get in his vehicle, find the teenagers, and shoot one in the face.

            “lack of (extreme) indifference”

            I’m not sure what you mean by that, he was obviously engaged enough to arm himself, get into his vehicle, find the teenagers, and shoot one in the face.

            I don’t think indifference, extreme or not, is a valid defense to attempted murder.

            I do understand your dilemma, as a county commissioner, he’s one of the protected class so I understand your need to defend his indefensible actions by claiming I don’t understand the ‘context’.

            Again, what possible ‘context’ could authorize him to hunt those teenagers down and shoot one of them in the face?

        • “What ‘context’ would authorize this perpetrator to hunt down this teenager and shoot him in the face?”

          100% false.

          There was no ‘hunt down’. It was a (coincidental) by-chance encounter.

          There was no ‘authorize’, either firearms use is permitted under the conditions present under law or its not permitted under law. Its not an ‘authorize’ thing because its conditional and impossible to determine when it might happen, the law can’t ‘authorize’ something it can’t predict.

          The firearms use here was wrong and improper for the conditions so not permitted under law. There was a lot of stupid, but there was no ‘hunt’ and there was no ‘attempted murder’.

          Learn what context means Miner49er.

          You are confirmation biased so all you see is what your mental health emotional state wants to see. Its a typical left wing thing.

          • “There was no ‘hunt down’. It was a (coincidental) by-chance encounter.“

            Oh, I get it, you’re just lying now.

            “(coincidental) by chance encounter“?

            “Metz, the 38-year-old boyfriend of the homeowner had been alerted to the property by his girlfriend who was not home but saw the teens on her security system.“

            So he armed himself, hunted down the teenagers (who were no longer on the property), and shot one in the face.

            40 ounce, that’s the very definition of premeditation.

            “Premeditation is when an individual contemplates, for any length of time, the undertaking of an activity and then subsequently takes the action.

            In Roby v. State, the Supreme Court of Mississippi stated that premeditation is an element of murder. In the context of murder, premeditation connotes a prior design to kill for some appreciable time, which allows an individual the opportunity for reflection and consideration before committing the act.“

            • “100% false.

              It was a (coincidental) by-chance encounter.”

              How sad to watch you publicly lie trying to justify your delusions.

              I understand you are still butt hurt because the three Aryans in Georgia finally were sent to prison for hunting down an innocent black man and shooting him to death.

              Only difference in this situation is, there was only one shooter and fortunately his victim did not die.
              Just like those killers in Georgia, he armed himself, jumped in his truck and hunted down innocent folks, shooting one without provocation.

              But fine, upstanding ‘law and order’ folks like you claim it was “coincidental, aby chance encounter”, he just happened to notice those teens, drove up on them and shot one, all by mistake.

              And thanks to his privilege, he will suffer little consequence.

    • “He hunted them down just like those three Aryans did Ahmaud Arbery.”

      100% false.

      It was a (coincidental) by-chance encounter.

      • “It was a (coincidental) by-chance encounter.“

        Did you even read the article?

        Or, are you lying in a vain attempt to support your delusional agenda?

        “Metz, the 38-year-old boyfriend of the homeowner had been alerted to the property by his girlfriend who was not home but saw the teens on her security system.“

        The shooter should be tried for attempted murder.

        Realistically, as a commissioner, I’m sure he’s a member of the privileged class in the local community so he would probably be found guilty of a lesser included charge such as wanton endangerment.

  8. There are states where property-posted land can be SOS. Texas, it is only if it is after dark Rule(based on the Bible Law on the subject). A closed and posted gate is a moral barrier to entry. The part people always seem to ignore is that posting has requirements; I see hundreds of improperly marked properties or where people posted the wrong or public land, public right of ways, county roads, etc. I had one on my land last week; the ‘neighbor’ put their ‘no trespassing’ sign on my land, and then, after being told ‘I should be careful,’ they made lite of the sign being off their land(and on mine). As to introducing an arm to the event, nearly every time I have seen it, the person with the gun showing will lose the fight. Most of the time, they say something dumb like, ‘I have a shotgun on the seat of my truck/car’, and said car/truck is 10m away. Like they are going to survive entering their car? The rule is one’s sidearm stays in its holster till one has justification for shooting; even then, killing a moron is not worth the hassle. This is generally due to them showing off their gun after the heated moment, and a reasonable person would not think there is an active threat, but the conditions for the use of force are met(Intent/capability/opportunity). One of the dumbest I have seen was someone stating they would kill me(for driving the speed limit if their uncontrolled dogs got hit, as we sat in a public right of way)…as they stood unarmed at the door of my UTV, with a fully equipped, well-worn 590A1(blue and black shells in the side saddle) in plain view, in an ELS(electronic locking system, like shotguns/M4s are locked in police cars in the west) gun rack. People get crazy about their ‘own’ land and totally disregard anyone else’s property rights; I’ve seen or heard that go down at least three times in the last two weeks in one of my counties, to the point I advise calling the Sheriff rather than talking like neighbors if the other party is unknown prior. Sad.

  9. A little aggressive for both parties if you ax me. A wee bit much for homecoming pics- hopping fences, leaving notes, staking out peoples’ house inside of car outside your house. Must be a real nut for photography. Not to smart these days.

  10. Chris T will be on here later in full support of mowing down the butt $ex and drugs property raiders lol. I think its Chris T. (Faulty memory)

  11. Unless the teens are trying to run over you or displaying knives and guns you do not draw your weapon especially if you are firearm undisciplined.

    The law was on the way, there is a video and an eyewitness who could have simply got the license plate # in case the teens made a run for it. The threat level did not warrant pulling a gun.

    When I instructed the forum’s resident Gun talking blowbags how to make a trigger plug from a tire stem I was ridiculed for supplying info intended for inexperienced rambo wannabes who have been led to believe a manual safety handgun is unmanly, time consuming, blah, blah, blah. Nonetheless one could have saved a city councilman’s bacon and a teen’s face.

    When you cannot control the trigger during stressful encounters you need something/anything to control the trigger for you otherwise chances are you’ll go from your ivory tower to sharing life with attorneys, detectives, bondsmen, judges, etc.

    If you own rural property follow the rules for posting no trespassing, hunting, fishing, etc. Some states allow tagging trees with purple spray paint, etc. Keeping people off your property is part of upkeep.

  12. Best case – Striker fired or DA only I betcha. Adrenaline + finger on trigger = “oh shit”.

    Worst case – attempted murder.

    Other news – the 15 yo buddy got some backbone!

  13. First, never jump over anyone’s gate or fence uninvited, even with the best intentions.

    BS. Have you never in your life approached a home where you weren’t expected? Have you never crossed a fence? Unless you’ve lived your life in a bubble, I highly doubt it. Good thing no one shot you.

    • What about the neighbor, looking for his lost goats who got out the busted fence line, or the local Hunter, looking for his lost coonhound at first light.

      I wonder how they would’ve handled Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon missionaries knocking at their door?

      And many rural properties have utility right of ways, dating back to the 1930s during the rural electrification program. Some areas have natural gas distribution/transmission lines, and all of these utility right of ways allow their personnel to cross your property anytime/anywhere if it’s convenient for the maintenance of their right of way. If the mineral rights are severed, the mineral owner is allowed to exploit his buried resources. They can cross your property over, under, through anytime they wish.

    • It doesn’t matter. There can be zero crime with guns and idiots like miner49er are still going to scream for more gun laws.

      They are fascists and they want disarmed peasants to exploit. Look at the folks supporting gun control. gates, zuckerberg, bloomberg etc. Corporate billionaires. fascism got smart and bought out the left.

      • “They are fascists“

        Just another empty claim.

        Do you want to see Fascism, do you want to see national conservative Republican figures advocating for Fascism?

        “Trump Says People Who Criticize Supreme Court Justices Should Be Jailed
        Trump praised the Supreme Court for allowing states to ban abortion during his Pennsylvania campaign rally, and said it should be “illegal” to criticize the justices
        BY CHARISMA MADARANG
        SEPTEMBER 23, 2024

        “They were very brave, the Supreme Court. Very brave. And they take a lot of hits because of it,” said the former president. “It should be illegal, what happens. You know, you have these guys like playing the ref, like the great Bobby Knight. These people should be put in jail the way they talk about our judges and our justices, trying to … sway their vote, sway their decision”.

        There you go, fascism has come to America’s shores, wrapped in the flag and holding the Bible just as predicted.

        Of course, Donald Trump went a little further than just wrapping himself in the flag, him public dry humping Old Glory was a sight to behold.

  14. oh, and one more lesson: Never point a firearm at anything you are not fully prepared to kill, and deal with the consequences.

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