Sheriff: Family member handling gun accidentally shoots 17-year-old boy in northern Minnesota

FIRST ASSESSMENT TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 17-year-old boy was taken to the hospital Saturday after he was accidentally shot by a family member. 

According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home on the 11000 block of Bonnie Road in First Assessment Township shortly after noon on a report of a 17-year-old boy being shot by a handgun. 

The sheriff’s office said the shooting is believed to have occurred after a family member, a 50-year-old man, was handling the handgun and it accidentally went off, striking the victim. 

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, then transferred to St. Cloud Hospital for multiple surgeries. As of Sunday, the victim's family said he is holding his own, according to Sgt. D.J. Downie.