Three Annapolis youths were charged with assault Monday in the shooting of a woman with a BB gun.

Deborah Ann Gruen, 42, of Arnold told police that she was driving on New Vernon Street behind the Loews Annapolis Hotel shortly after 4:30 p.m. when she felt something hit her left cheek. She looked down and saw blood on her blouse and drove to the Anne Arundel Medical Center.

At the hospital, the BB was removed and the woman received several stiches.

City police later found a neighbor who said she had seen the boys with the gun and told police where the boys lived.

When police found the boys, they said they had been shooting birds and accidentally shot the woman.

The youths, ages 13, 14 and 15 and residents of the West Street area, were cited for assault and released into the custody of their parents.

POLICE LOG

* Winchester: A .22-caliber rifle and about $75 in cash were stolen from a home in the 1600 block of Winchester Road over the weekend, county police said.