MOUNTAIN HOME - Police say what started out as a typical lunch trip to a nearby convenience store for a group of Mountain Home High School students ended terribly wrong.

"As they were walking his friends said they had heard a shot fired and he just fell to the ground," said Rick Viola, a sergeant with the Mountain Home Police.

A 16-year-old boy had been shot in the stomach and collapsed on the corner of the street.

Nearby neighbor Art Perkins said he came outside and had no idea what happened.

"I didn't know the boy, the teen had been shot."

After investigating and questioning the students, police say they determined the shooter was a 5-year-boy.

The boy had found a semi automatic hand gun inside his home and police say he became curious.

"He discovers it, takes it outside and plays with it and then we have a tragedy," said Viola.

The teen was flown by Life Flight to Boise.

News of the incident traveled fast among high school students.

"The one that stuck the most was that someone got shot," said Aric Castro, a sophomore from Mountain Home.

"People were saying that it was an accident and that the little boy didn't do it on purpose," said Kali Ireland, a freshman from Mountain Home High School.

And while police say this shooting is an accident they also say it needs to be a reminder especially to parents.

"When you have young kids that are curious we need to keep those guns put away so that these kinds of things don't have an opportunity to happen," said Viola.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident. They say the parents of the 5-year-old boy could face criminal charges including injury to a child.

The gun did not have a lock.