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12-year-old accidentally kills sibling in Harris County home
By ANTHONY WILLIAMS Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 7, 2008, 11:23PM
A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his stepbrother at their northwest Harris County home Wednesday night, investigators said.
The boys, both 12, were playing with their father's handgun at about 10:30 p.m. when it discharged, said Shawn Woelk, a deputy investigator with the Harris County Sheriff's Office homicide division.
Woelk said it's unclear exactly where the boys got the gun. They took it from inside their home in the1500 block of Plumwood and into the attached garage, where the shooting occurred. Both parents were home at the time of the incident.
When Harris County Precinct 4 officers arrived at the home, the mother told them the father took the injured son to Houston Northwest Medical Center, Pct. 4 Chief Mark Herman said. The boy died on arrival, Woelk said.
An autopsy is pending.
Woelk said authorities will present their investigation to district attorney's office, who will go over it with a grand jury. While the shooting was likely accidental, Woelk said the father could be charged with making a firearm accessible to a child, a misdemeanor.
"It's a very good lesson," Woelk said. "This accident was very preventable."
By ANTHONY WILLIAMS Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 7, 2008, 11:23PM
A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his stepbrother at their northwest Harris County home Wednesday night, investigators said.
The boys, both 12, were playing with their father's handgun at about 10:30 p.m. when it discharged, said Shawn Woelk, a deputy investigator with the Harris County Sheriff's Office homicide division.
Woelk said it's unclear exactly where the boys got the gun. They took it from inside their home in the1500 block of Plumwood and into the attached garage, where the shooting occurred. Both parents were home at the time of the incident.
When Harris County Precinct 4 officers arrived at the home, the mother told them the father took the injured son to Houston Northwest Medical Center, Pct. 4 Chief Mark Herman said. The boy died on arrival, Woelk said.
An autopsy is pending.
Woelk said authorities will present their investigation to district attorney's office, who will go over it with a grand jury. While the shooting was likely accidental, Woelk said the father could be charged with making a firearm accessible to a child, a misdemeanor.
"It's a very good lesson," Woelk said. "This accident was very preventable."
