HOT SPRINGS (AP) — A 14-year-old boy likely won’t be charged for firing a shotgun blast into the face of a 17-year-old boy who with two others was allegedly trying to break into the younger boy’s home, Hot Springs police said Tuesday.

The wounded teenager was in critical condition and breathing with the aid of a machine Tuesday at a Little Rock hospital, Hot Springs police Cpl. McCrary Means said.

The attempted break-in occurred at 7:30 a.m. Monday and was witnessed by neighbors who were heading out for work and called police after the shot was fired, Means said.

After the teenager was wounded, two alleged accomplices — Lamar A. McKenzie, 18, of Hot Springs and a 17-year-old — dragged the wounded boy around the corner, where police quickly found them.

Means said McKenzie is charged with attempted burglary and that the non-wounded suspect is in the juvenile system. McKenzie was still in the Garland County Jail on Tuesday, held on $3,500 bond. A jailer said there was no indication whether McKenzie had an attorney, though he had a court appearance set for 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Means said detectives were familiar with the young suspects from past incidents and that one of them had a prior arrest for burglary.

Authorities did not release the names of the minors.

Means said the 14-year-old was home alone at the time of the incident. Public schools in Hot Springs didn’t reopen from the holiday break until Tuesday.

Though police have not pursued a charge against the boy, Means said a prosecutor would review the case file and ultimately decide whether a charge was warranted.

Several homes in the neighborhood had been burglarized recently, including the home where the 14-year-old lives, Means said. He said nothing stood out from the earlier burglaries, with the thieves taking televisions, game consoles or other items that they could easily carry and then sell on the street or to a pawn shop.