A Rochester man has been sentenced to 45 days in jail after admitting he shot a teenage girl in the face with a BB gun from about five feet away near Silver Lake Park, leaving two BBs lodged in her skin that required medical removal. Jayden Eric Scott, now 20, counted down from five before firing, according to the criminal complaint, in an incident that unfolded over Memorial Day weekend last year.
The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. on May 25, 2025, after the girl confronted Scott about an earlier incident involving BBs allegedly shot at her home, according to the criminal complaint cited by WJON. The girl had been at the park with friends when Scott arrived by vehicle and, per the complaint, threatened to shoot her if she did not back away before firing multiple times. Rochester police responded to a report of the shooting near the park and later arrested Scott at his home, according to the same complaint.
Scott told police he felt threatened by the group of people at the park, WJON reports. Officers had gone to a local hospital where the girl was being treated, and Rochester's KROC-AM News reported that the two BBs required medical attention for removal from her face.
From Three Counts to a Single Felony Plea
Scott was initially charged in Olmsted County District Court in May 2025 with felony threats of violence, gross misdemeanor carrying a BB gun in public, and misdemeanor assault, per the station's earlier report. In April 2026, he entered a plea agreement in which he admitted the felony terroristic threats charge while the assault charge and the BB gun carrying charge were both dismissed.
That single count falls under Minnesota Statutes Section 609.713, subdivision 1, which makes it a felony to threaten, directly or indirectly, to commit a crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize another person. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine under state law. Separately, Minnesota Statutes Section 609.66 restricts carrying a BB gun in public without authorization and can trigger gross misdemeanor or felony exposure when the weapon is brandished in a threatening manner, according to the Giffords Law Center.
Sentencing Terms and Guidelines
As part of his sentence, Scott was ordered to serve 45 days in jail, with credit for three days already spent in custody, and he was granted work-release privileges. He will also be on probation for the next five years. Felony threats of violence is classified at Severity Level 4 under Minnesota's Standard Sentencing Grid, where first-time offenders commonly receive stayed prison sentences paired with brief probation and local jail time rather than state prison, according to guidelines published by Olmsted County.
The Medical Risk of Close-Range BB Wounds
Medical research underscores why the injuries required professional removal rather than at-home first aid. A 2024 retrospective study found that pediatric head and neck BB gun injuries frequently require emergency department care, with soft-tissue foreign body penetration serving as a key factor for hospital admission. A separate pediatric study reviewed by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that nearly 45% of nonpowder gun injuries treated at specialized medical centers require surgery to remove embedded projectiles, and that 10% of victims are left with long-term functional deficits.
Notably, incidents like this one don't show up in federal firearm violence statistics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention excludes air-powered, gas-powered, BB, and pellet guns from its official firearm injury and fatality tracking because nonpowder weapons don't use an explosive powder charge, meaning the physical harm they cause is tracked separately from conventional gun violence data.
Silver Lake Park's Backdrop
Silver Lake Park is one of Rochester's main recreational hubs, known for playgrounds, walking trails, and boat rentals, and it is currently in the middle of a $10.5 million city modernization project, according to Y105FM. The park has drawn scrutiny before: Olmsted County District Court also handled jury selection this past July in a separate, widely publicized confrontation case at Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester involving misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges, a case Hoodline covered in its park slur courtroom coverage.
