Connor Minto narrowly avoided being blinded after a pellet lodged in his forehead when he was stood on the sidelines at an under-12s game in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.
Three 14-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with the incident at Hermitage Academy on Saturday and bailed pending further enquiries.
Connor Minto narrowly avoided being blinded after a pellet lodged in his forehead when he was stood on the sidelines at an under 12s football game
Connor ran to his parents covered in blood because he thought he had been struck by a stone during the match between Chester-le-Street Town and Coxhoe.
But his father saw there was a .22 pellet lodged in his forehead, just above his left eye.
The schoolboy was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Newcastle, where the pellet was removed and he received stitches.
His mother, Kerry Minto, said that the youngster thought he was going to die and is now terrified to go outside.
'He felt like he had been hit by a stone so he turned to his friend and asked him what had happened,' she said.
'His friend said told him he had a bullet in his head. At that point he didn't know it was a pellet, so he told us he thought he was going to die.
'Physically he has recovered from the incident but mentally he is terrified. He is scared to go out and he now sticks by me or his dad's side.
'He is worried he might have been specifically targeted. He knows the police have arrested people but he also knows they are not still locked up in the police station.
'He's scared if he goes out again they might attack again.
'I dread to think what could have happened if it would have been an inch or so lower - it would have changed his whole life.
'I think a lot of people aren't aware how dangerous air rifles can be. It's important that children are not left unsupervised with them.'
Police have released a picture of the schoolboy's injury to raise awareness about the dangers of young children using air rifles.
Detective Constable Andy Froggatt, said: 'Connor was standing next to the nets with some other boys watching a nearby rugby game when he felt what he thought was a stone hit his head.
'He ran to his dad because he could feel blood and his dad could see that a.22 pellet was lodged in Connor's forehead just above his left eye.
'This was a very serious incident. The photos clearly show how nasty the injury was, but it could have been much worse if the pellet had hit the Connor's eye.
'Thankfully Connor is recovering well now, but he was extremely upset by what happened.
'We are appealing to anyone who was at the football or rugby games that were being played on Saturday and witnessed the incident to contact police.
'We'd also like to remind people about the dangers of using air weapons in public places.
Source:Daily Mail
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