Colorado Springs teen hit in head with ‘football sized’ rock after altercation with toy gun escalates

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A 16-year-old boy is now recovering from serious injuries after his skull was "shattered" by a "football-sized" rock, according to his family. The rock was thrown through a car window at the boy by a stranger after an incident with a toy gun escalated.

Colorado Springs Police say they received the call at 11:10 p.m. Friday that a teenager was hit with a large rock near Voyager Parkway.

The family of Brayden Cowan told KRDO he was with four other boys playing with Orbeez Splat Guns – a toy made popular among teens through social media platforms like TikTok. That's when Cowan got injured.

After firing the toy guns, Cowan's family says multiple strangers nearby became angry, throwing the rock at Cowan and chasing the teens.

The teens drove off and once they arrived at safety, they called 911.

Brayden was taken to Children's Hospital and in just hours underwent surgery. He now has six metal plates and 46 staples in his head.

Now, Jennifer Cowan wants parents to understand the potential dangers of trends like these toy guns.

"It seems innocent until it isn't," said Jennifer, "and you don't want to go through it before you know, 'I should have paid more attention' or 'I could have prevented this.' I don't think you can stop everything, but you can pay attention."

Though his mom says he has a long road to recovery ahead, she is touched by the way the community has surrounded the family.

As Brayden and his family continue on the long road to recovery, you can donate to help them with medical bills and rehabilitation costs through this verified GoFundMe.

According to police, they're still searching for the suspect described as a middle-aged man.