A 9-year-old Madras boy has been charged with felony assault for allegedly shooting a schoolmate with a marble-loaded paintball gun.

The victim, a 10-year-old Madras boy, was not seriously injured. The marble hit him just above the left kneecap, leaving a purplish bruise about the size of a quarter, according to a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

The Bulletin does not usually identify crime victims or juvenile offenders.

The alleged incident occurred in the early morning of Feb. 28 on the Madras Elementary School playground, just before classes started, according to the incident report. The accused boy denied shooting the victim in an interview with a sheriff’s deputy the following day.

The boy was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and menacing, according to the incident report. The case was referred to the Jefferson County Juvenile Justice Department Monday. The Jefferson County School District also suspended the boy for 10 days, and may expel him, according to his father.

Interim Superintendent Keith Johnson would not comment on the incident because he said it involved confidential student information.

Students told Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Hankins the boy had been threatening last Monday to shoot anyone who made him mad, according to the incident report. The boy originally brought the gun to school to scare some fifth-graders who were giving him trouble, he told Hankins.

The paintball gun used was a pump action gun that propels paint pellets with compressed carbon dioxide. Paint pellets expelled from such guns generally reach speeds of 200 feet to 300 feet per second.

The boy told Hankins the gun couldn’t shoot marbles because they were too small and rolled out of the barrel. However, Hankins tested the paintball gun after interviewing the boy and his parents at their home. Hankins was able to fire a marble at a can sitting on the ground.

The boy may be referred to the state Department of Human Services for help rather than prosecuted, said Sonia Littledeer-Evans, senior juvenile justice officer. The county rarely files delinquency charges against youths ages 11 years and under, she said. Youths must be 12 years of age or older to serve time in a detention center or face other punitive consequences, according to state statute, Littledeer-Evans said.