Gavin Lamon Howard

Just after 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, law enforcement and emergency personnel were dispatched to a residence just outside of Galena where a 17-year-old girl had sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Cherokee County Ambulance Personnel transported the victim, who resided at the scene, to a Joplin hospital.

As a result of the investigation into events leading up to the victim being shot, Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 19-year-old Gavin Lamon Howard, also of the home.

Howard is being held in the Cherokee County Jail on allegations of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Endangering a Child, Criminal Use of a Weapon, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Law Enforcement.