May 25, 2015 1 min read

MCKEESPORT (AP) – A McKeesport man shot an 11-year-old boy in the chest with a BB gun on a playground because he said the boy previously shot his own young son with the same kind of weapon, authorities said Monday.

Albert Clark, 31, approached the boy Sunday outside the former George Washington Elementary School and fired twice, police said.

The boy fell to the ground saying he couldn’t breathe and was later hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

Clark told investigators he then gave the weapon to a child who “was walking up the street,” according to the criminal complaint. He said the boy had shot his 5-year-old son with a BB gun.

Investigators searched Clark’s home and confiscated 5,000 BB rounds, police said.

Clark faces charges including aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and evidence tampering and was held in the county jail on $250,000 bail pending a June 1 preliminary hearing.

Court documents don’t list an attorney who could comment on the charges, and a phone number listed in his name was disconnected.