would sting quite a bit. At close range in someone's face, they could lose an eye.

If this has been a water gun fight between willing parties wearing protective gear then I say wear it out and have fun. But this was a quasi drive-by shooting. Today water pistol, tomorrow...?

Firing a projectile weapon out of a motor vehicle is probably a felony so the initial charge is appropriate. The prosecutor is probably applying the charge so that he has leverage to plead out a lesser misdemeanor charge. The kid doesn't need to do any jail time, but he does need to learn that he did something wrong.