A 14-year-old Gallup boy was in critical condition at a Gallup hospital March 12 after being shot in the stomach in what police say is connected to the theft of a crossbow on March 7.

The name of the juvenile has not been released, since he is a suspect in the theft of the crossbow. The name of the suspect in the shooting also has not been released because he had not been charged as of March 14.

Gallup Police Department Capt. Marinda Spencer did say, however, that the shooting and the burglary are connected.

What is known at this time is that police were dispatched to a house on Parmelee Street around 7 pm on March 7 in connection to a report of a stolen crossbow.

Officers spoke with Michael Shain, who is not a suspect in the shooting.

Shain told police that his crossbow had been stolen earlier that evening from his house. He also said he saw a juvenile in the area of his house at the time of the theft.

There were two attempts made that day to steal the crossbow. The second was successful.

Shain said he had been practicing with the crossbow earlier in the day and laid it down on the ground before going back into his house. When he returned, he discovered that the crossbow was gone. He saw a juvenile by his shed and yelled at him and the boy ran away.

Shain said he did not see the juvenile running with a crossbow but when he searched he found it in the bushes.

Later that day, he went back to his house and found the door unlocked and his crossbow as well as three arrows missing. He suspected that the juvenile had come back and stolen the crossbow.

When Shain gave that report to police, he was told that a juvenile matching that description had been reported missing by his parents who live a block away from Shain.

Police went to the home of the juvenile and talked to the parents who said they still had not heard from their son. Police told them if their son returned to contact police as soon as possible.

During a search of the outside of the parent’s home, police found parts of the crossbow but not the crossbow itself.

As for the shooting, Spencer said officers were still working on the report. But she could say that the shooting occurred at or near the residence where the crossbow was stolen.