12-Year-Old Killed, Another Teen Shot In Mouth While Playing With Guns

TAMPA, FL — A 14-year-old has been arrested and charged in connection to a shooting in early January.

Just before 1 p.m. on Jan. 8, Tampa police were called to a home in the 2600 block of East 111th Avenue after a 12-year-old was shot.

Police found the youngster shot in a bedroom of the home and called an ambulance to take him to the hospital where he died. Another teen who was 15 years old was shot in his mouth and recovered from his wound.

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Detectives determined that the same bullet struck both young people.

Following interviews, detectives learned that several teens brought firearms to a gathering at the home and began pointing them at one another "for fun." The 14-year-old pulled the trigger on his gun and a bullet struck the 12-year-old in the back of the head and traveled through him, striking the 15-year-old in the mouth.

The 14-year-old told detectives that he thought the gun was unloaded.

He was arrested on Monday and charged with one count of felony manslaughter with a weapon.

"This is a tragic reminder of the fact that it is essential for gun owners to practice safe storage of firearms," said interim Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw. "Had these juveniles not had easy access to guns in the home, a young man would still be alive today. It is critical for parents, guardians and gun owners to ensure that firearms are stored in a place that is inaccessible to children, out of sight and locked at all times."

According to statistics compiled by EveryStat, 3,540 children and teens are killed by guns every year, and 60 percent of all gun deaths among children and teens are homicides.

The Tampa Police Department's "Project Locked and Unloaded" offers free gunlocks at any district office. Gun owners are urged to pick one up so they can properly safeguard their firearms.

They can be picked up at:

• District 1, 3818 W Tampa Bay Blvd.
• District 2, 9330 N 30th St.
• District 3, 3808 N 22nd St.