Teenager dies as pals shoot aerosol cans

7/18/2006

SYCAMORE, Ohio - A teenager was shot and killed Saturday at a rural Wyandot County farm while he and a group of friends were shooting at aerosol cans, sheriff's officials said.

Derrick J. Hoepf, 17, of Sycamore, was shot in the shoulder while leaning down and running away from a fire he had just lit about 9 p.m. near an aerosol can in the backyard of 6429 County Rd. 30, authorities said.

He was flown to Wyandot Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead that night, sheriff's officials said. An autopsy was ordered by the Wyandot County Coroner's Office.

Deputies identified Jacob D. Daniel, 18, of Sycamore as the youth who fired the shot.

The incident remains under investigation.