Father and son both arrested after son used his dad’s gun to shoot 13-year-old girl
The teenager was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of tampering with evidence, and two counts of assault on a police officer.
A teenager in New Mexico used his father’s handgun to shoot and kill a teenage girl last week, police said.
William Brown, a 39-year-old father from Questa, New Mexico, was arrested alongside his 14-year-old son on Friday after a deadly shooting.
Around 2.30pm on Friday, Brown’s son was hanging out and listening to music with a small group of four teenagers at his home. ‘At some point, a 14-year-old male took out a pistol and pointed it at a 13-year-old female,’ the New Mexico State Police said in a news release.
The male fired the handgun, killing the girl. He then dragged her body outside his house and left it there, before returning inside.
Brown was not home at the time of the shooting, but returned before police could respond.
When police did arrive at the home, Brown refused to come outside for 30 minutes.
Brown’s son was arrested and detained at San Juan Juvenile Detention Center. He has not been identified due to his age.
The teenager was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of tampering with evidence, and two counts of assault on a police officer.
Brown was also arrested and charged with making a firearm accessible to a minor resulting in death.
The 13-year-old victim has also not been identified. Family members held a vigil for her on Sunday night, and a march is being planned for Tuesday, her family told the Santa Fe New Mexican.
This is not the first case a minor using a parent’s firearm this year.
In January, a six-year-old child in Newport News, Virginia brought his mother’s handgun to school, where he used it to shoot and injure his first grade teacher.
The child’s mother, Deja Taylor, has since been charged with felony child neglect. The six-year-old was deemed to young to understand the legal system.
In March, a three-year-old girl in Texas got ahold of her parent’s unsecured handgun while playing unsupervised. She used to it to accidentally kill her four-year-old sister.
In July, a three-year-old in California accidentally go ahold of their parent’s gun, which they then used to shoot and kill their one-year-old sibling.
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