Police in Chicago say a teenager with gang ties tried to blame a self-inflicted gunshot to the groin on a pair of ninjas before eventually coming clean.

The unnamed 17-year-old was brought to Loyola Hospital in Maywood with a "left groin" injury that appeared to be self-inflicted.

But police officers who were called to the hospital by staff were told by the teen that two men dressed in ninja garb were to blame.

The teen said the men emerged from a black van in front of his car and shot him with a semi-automatic handgun.

After a scan of the crime scene, a review of surveillance footage, and a number of interviews with potential eyewitnesses yielded no proof of ninja-related activity, police confronted the teen and eventually were told the truth.

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