Bell lives . The grandmother , Rosie Simmons , told the officer that she had hidden the gun after the shooting `` for Mychal 's safety so he did not try to shot -LSB- sic -RSB- himself again , '' according to the report . Bell , 18 , suffered a wound to the upper right chest , the report says . Powell-Lexing told CNN that Bell had surgery Monday night , and Monroe police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten said the wound was not life-threatening . Bell was being treated Tuesday at a hospital in Shreveport , Louisiana . In December 2006 , Bell was one of a half-dozen black teenagers who faced felony charges in the beating of a white classmate in the town of Jena , Louisiana , an incident that followed months of racial tensions in the community of about 3,000 people . The case of the `` Jena 6 '' drew national attention from civil rights groups that said the charges were excessive , and an estimated 15,000-plus people turned out for a September 2007 rally in Jena on the youths ' behalf . Bell eventually pleaded guilty to battery in a juvenile court and later moved
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Louisiana teenager whose 2006 arrest in the racially charged `` Jena 6 '' assault case drew thousands of protesters tried to commit suicide days after a separate arrest last week , a police report says . Mychal Bell was released in September 2007 and later agreed to a plea deal in the beating of a classmate . Mychal Bell , who was arrested last week after allegedly stealing clothes worth $ 370 from a department store , told investigators he shot himself Monday evening `` because he was tired of all the media attention , '' the report says . The high school senior 's mother and his grandmother also told an investigator that he 'd indicated `` he did not feel like he could live anymore '' because of media coverage of the shoplifting allegations , according to the report . Earlier , Bell 's attorney , Carol Powell-Lexing , told CNN that Bell 's family told her he 'd accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun . According to the police report , however , an officer responded to a 911 call from his grandmother 's Monroe , Louisiana , home , where