Police in Rochester, New York say a 17-year-old was hospitalized after being shot on Wednesday afternoon, but the 46-year-old who pulled the trigger isn't currently facing any charges. Based on the information released by authorities, it sounds like the armed citizen was acting in self-defense when he opened fire. 

Teens in two vehicles drove toward a 46-year-old man, prompting him to open fire and shoot one of them Wednesday afternoon, according to police.

Investigators said the man approached multiple teens occupying a Kia and Hyundai on Norton Village Lane to "inquire about their presence." 

The teens left the area in the vehicles, only to circle back and drive at the man, according to police. The man reportedly pulled a legally registered .45-caliber handgun and fired several rounds before the vehicles fled.

A short time later police received a call about a teen suffering from a gunshot wound; not at a hospital, but on a nearby street. Authorities haven't said if the teen was dumped by the side of the road by his alleged accomplices, but they have connected him to the earlier incident. Not surprisingly, authorities say both the Kia and Hyundai driven by the teens were stolen, and they've also arrested a 15-year-old and charged him with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Frankly, given the problems Rochester has had with juveniles stealing cars I'm surprised incidents like this aren't more common, though I suppose that a) most young criminals have the sense to drive away from citizens who confront them and b) New York's draconian carry laws are artificially suppressing the number of armed citizens within the city. 

Earlier this month Rochester TV station WHAM reported on the rising number of juvenile crimes, and heard from frustrated members of law enforcement who say that all too often young offenders are simply released to their parents instead of being kept in custody. 

"We’ve run into accounts — especially here in town — we’ve run into the same person the next day, or a week later, doing something else," Gates Police Chief Robert Long said. "Now, we’re stopping and detaining them again, and bringing them back to home, where that’s either broken or there’s that lack of supervision."

Nearly a year ago, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello announced a program to address the increase in teen and juvenile offenses.

"You can have court-ordered diversion, but every youth that is arrested has to be evaluated for suitability and appropriateness to participate in a diversion program. That’s something that statute orders," explained Monroe County Chief Probation Officer Kristine Durant. "Depending on the charge that then comes to probation, we have to do a risk assessment instrument that is validated by the State of New York and required by the State of New York."

That "risk assessment" isn't working too well. Earlier this week we reported on five teens arrested for breaking into a marijuana dispensary and a gun store near Syracuse, New York. Three of the teens were sent home with an 8 p.m. curfew, another was released to the custody of their parents, and only one 14-year-old was placed in juvenile detention. 

New York's juvenile justice system isn't providing the consequences these troubled teens need, which only emboldens them to commit more and more crimes. I hate to say it, but maybe now that Rochester's young criminals know that even if the law isn't treating their crimes seriously they still run the risk of being shot by a lawfully armed citizen, we'll start to see a reduction in these kinds of incidents.