A 16-year-old was taken to the hospital in critical condition after he suffered an injury in an accident involving a pumpkin slingshot at a church festival in Oakwood.
Sgt. Todd Templeton with the Oakwood Police Department said patrol officers were called to the Cornerstone Assembly Church of God on Atlanta Highway around 8:45 p.m. on Halloween.
"When our officers arrived on scene, they found a 16-year-old male who had been seriously injured while firing pumpkins from a 'pumpkin chuckin' machine," Templeton said. "It's kind of like a large slingshot...it's got two posts with a big piece of rubber band between the two posts and used to fire pumpkins off into the woods."
Paramedics arrived to take care of the teen, transporting him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Hall County Fire Services Capt. Zachary Brackett said the pumpkin that the teen was trying to fire did not release from the rubber band and instead hit him in the chest, causing the traumatic injury.
Templeton said the personnel at the church cooperated with authorities as they investigated.
"It's a very tragic accident - that's the way we're looking at it at this point," Templeton said.
As of Thursday afternoon, authorities did not have an update on the teen's medical condition.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/11/729734/teen-critically-injured-in-freak-accident-at-oakwood-church-festival