Policeman shoots drunken youth.

A veteran patrolman gunned down and seriously injured a drunken teen-ager in the middle of a Tokyo residential area after the 17-year-old boy grabbed the officer's truncheon and severely beat him with it, police said Thursday.

One of the bullets went through the unemployed boy's left shoulder while another grazed his cheek. The teen from Edogawa-ku, whose name is being withheld due to his age, is recovering from the wounds at a hospital. He will be arrested on assault and other charges when he is discharged.

A police spokesman defended the actions of the officer, Hideo Watanabe, 48.

"Three shots were fired as the officer felt his life was under …