[GovernmentShrinker]

It's the parent(s) who should be facing criminal charges. If your 13 and 16 year old are this irresponsible, you need to keep the hardware locked up when they're unsupervised.

[MineralMan]

"It's the parent(s) who should be facing criminal charges. If your 13 and 16 year old are this irresponsible, you need to keep the hardware locked up when they're unsupervised."

Hmm...I'm not sure what the laws are in Montana regarding the age for unsupervised firearms use, but I'd guess that the 16-year-old was within the law.

Certainly, the parent(s) of these boys failed at teaching them to use their firearms safely. That's clear, since this woman has a bullet wound in her leg. That should never have happened.

Are they criminally liable, though? Probably not. Civilly liable? You bet. However, I'll wager that there won't be a lawsuit here. The parents will pay the woman's medical bills and that will be that. Montana farmers are not generally lawsuit happy.

The boys will probably be charged as juveniles with something or another and will get probation. Once they're adults, the records will be gone.