A pregnant 16-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend have been arrested after police discovered a woman lying, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head, in front of her North Carolina home.

Daniel Rhoney and Elizabeth Paige Fowler have been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Rhoney’s mother, Sherri Rhoney, and are being held at the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

Sherri Rhoney was found beaten and covered in blood in her front yard by off-duty deputies on Wednesday moring and was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries.

‘They lied to you’: Elizabeth Fowler and Daniel Rhoney told reporters tearfully that they had no idea who had shot Rhoney’s mother, Sherri, who was discovered bleeding in her front yard

According to the Charlotte Observer, Daniel Rhoney and Elizabeth Fowler were inside Sherri Rhoney’s Old Shelby Road house at the time of the discovery.

The Hickory Record reports that Fowler told investigators that she and her boyfriend Daniel Rhoney had pulled into the driveway and found Sherri Rhoney covered in blood and unresponsive.

Eyewitness News reporters spoke to the teenagers at the scene, who were tearful and denied any knowledge of the shooting.

Crime scene: Sherri Fowler was allegedly shot and left to bleed in the grass in front of her Catawba County home by her son

Teen mom: Elizabeth Fowler is seven months pregnant to Sherri Fowler’s son, Daniel

‘She’s a very helpful woman. I’m seven months pregnant and she has done everything for me and my child. I can’t believe somebody would hurt her,’ Fowler said on camera.

Sheriff Coy Reid said investigators had determined that Daniel Rhoney shot his mother in the head following an argument, and that Fowler had participated in beating the woman before she was shot.

‘They lied to you,’ Reid told Eyewitness News later. ‘No doubt in my mind about that.’

Crocodile tears: Investigators say Elizabeth Fowler and Daniel Rhoney (seen in the background) left Sherri Rhoney bleeding in her front yard for hours after shooting her in the head

Critical: Sherri Rhoney was airlifted to hospital and has undergone several operations

According to Reid, Sherri Rhoney was conscious in hospital briefly and was able to tell him what happened.

Sherri Rhoney told the sheriff that an argument broke out after she told her son that he and his pregnant girlfriend would have to move out of her home.

According to WBTV, Sherri Rhoney was left lying in the grass bleeding for several hours before the police officers happened to drive by and saw the critically injured woman.

Daniel Rhoney and Elizabeth Fowler will be tried as adults. They are scheduled to appear in court for the first time tomorrow.

Police are currently searching to home for the weapon used in the shooting.

Sherri Rhoney is in a critical condition in hospital and has undergone several surgeries.

Read more: Daily Mail