Minnesota teen, 13, ‘accidentally’ shoots dead a five-year-old child during social media stunt gone wrong at Thanksgiving family gathering
- A five-year-old child was accidentally shot dead by a 13-year-old teen at a Thanksgiving family gathering on Thursday in Minneapolis
- Brooklyn Park Police Department attempted to save the child at the scene, but it was too late
- The investigation determined other juveniles were also present as they were attempting to make a social media video
- Police say preliminary information leads investigators to believe that the teen male fired the loaded weapon accidently
- The 13-year-old was arrested and is currently at Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center, while the investigation remains ongoing
A five-year-old in Minnesota was fatally shot by accident on Thanksgiving Day by a teen recording a video with a group of ‘four or five kids’ during a family gathering.
Brooklyn Park Police Department officers were called to a home at about 10.20p.m. Thursday on the 8000 block of Florida Avenue, Minneapolis, where they attempted to render first aid on the child, who died at the scene.
‘This is a very unfortunate accident that requires a very detailed investigation, which is ongoing right now,’ Brooklyn Park Police Deputy Chief Mark Bruley said.
Police say a 13-year-old boy was handling a loaded gun and that ‘several other juveniles were also present as they were attempting to make a social media video’.
‘A preliminary investigation found that at some point about four to five youths had located a rifle at the home, started using the rifle out in the garage to do some type of social media type video,’ Bruley told WCCO-TV, a local CBS affiliate.
At some point, the gun went off, hitting the five-year-old.
The teenager, who claims to have fired ‘accidentally,’ was arrested before being held at Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center, right outside of Minneapolis-St Paul.
It remains unclear as to whether the 13-year-old and the five-year-old were related.
The unidentified five-year-old child was shot at a Thanksgiving family gathering on Thursday on the 8000 block of Florida Avenue (pictured) in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
The 13-year-old shooter will face trial at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center (pictured) after shooting the five-year-old in front of other minors
The teen could be charged with numerous counts of manslaughter, according to Bruley.
The gun owner, who remains unidentified, may also face charges depending on the outcome of the investigation, according to a report.
Burley urged families that own guns to keep them out of their kids’ sight in a bid to avoid similar tragedies.
‘Lock them up, and lock the ammo up separate,’ the deputy chief said, referring to firearms. ‘We as adults, it’s our obligation to make sure [kids] don’t have access to them.’
A neighbor told WCCO that she empathizes with the lost of the child’s family, but also for the 13 year-old, whose life will never be the same.
‘I’m sure it’s an accident, you know. I’m sure he is freaking out,’ she said. ‘He is only a kid so now he is losing his life and [a] 5-year-old lost his life.’
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