CHINA GROVE — A third try brought out the truth Friday for an 18-year-old man who told law enforcement officers his car was shot in front of China Grove Middle School.

A Rowan County Sheriff’s Office incident report states the teen’s car, a blue 2005 Honda Civic, had bullet holes in the right rear passenger area of the car. One was at the top of the door frame. A second was knee-high in the fender. The right rear window was shattered, too.

The teen was met by deputy A.D. Dyles and China Grove Police officer A.C. Calamari at a Kangaroo Gas Station in the 500 block of North Main Street.

The teen initially said he was driving by China Grove Middle School when an unknown person shot at his car and drove away in a Honda sedan on the right side of the road, the incident report states. Dyles noted in his report that was unlikely because the road in front of the middle school is two lanes with a turn lane in the middle.

In a second rendition of the story, the teen told the deputy and China Grove officer a red Honda sedan blocked the entrance to China Grove Middle School when the shooting occurred, but Calamari said he was sitting in the school’s parking lot for about 45 minutes and never saw the suspect vehicle.

In a third edition of the story, the teen said the shooting occurred at the intersection of U.S. 29 and Red Fox Lane. There, Dyles said he found a field of broken glass that was “more in line with the physical evidence that had already been observed.” No shell casings were located.

“I asked (the teen) directly why he had felt it necessary to mislead my investigation. He stated that he was just nervous and shook up after he had been shot at,” Dyles wrote in his report.

The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have any suspects in the incident. The teen also wasn’t charged with filing a false report.