Police: ‘Apparent accidental’ shooting by 14-year-old kills boy, 13, in Minneapolis home

A 14-year-old boy fatally shot a 13-year-old boy on accident early Tuesday in a Minneapolis home occupied by several other people, officials said.

The “apparent accidental” gunfire occurred about 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of N. 24th and Sheridan avenues in the 2400 block of N. Ferrant Place, a statement from police read.

Officers arrived, saw that the 13-year-old had been shot once and provided immediate aid to the teen before he died at the scene, according to police.

“Preliminary information indicates that a 14-year-old boy was handling a gun when the 13-year-old boy was shot,” the police statement continued. Police did not disclose the teens’ identities.

The 14-year-old remained at the scene, and was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center.

There were two adult women and other juveniles in the home at the time of the shooting, police said.

“The death of a child is always incredibly troubling and tragic,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “Our investigators will work diligently to answer the many questions we have. In addition to supporting the families that are impacted by this tragedy, everyone must make every effort to ensure that every gun is securely stored.”

The shooting comes about two weeks after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in northeast Minneapolis. Jajuan Robinson was critically wounded at the Hook and Ladder Apartments in the 2300 block of Jefferson Street NE. on Oct, 21, said his aunt, Meshia Woods. The toddler died at HCMC a short time later.

Woods said police told the family that Jajuan got ahold of the gun and it went off.

About 200 minors have picked up a firearm and accidentally shot themselves or someone else in the United States this year, resulting in 74 deaths and 128 injuries, according to a database compiled by the gun-control advocacy group Everytown USA.

Of those, at least two occurred in Minnesota, including one case in which a 17-year-old boy unintentionally shot and killed his 16-year-old friend with a ghost gun without a serial number inside a New Hope home last month. The older teen has since been charged with first-degree assault and illegal possession of a machine gun.

In another case last April, an 11-year-old boy was shot and wounded by his 13-year-old cousin in St. Paul after a group of kids discovered two unsecured firearms in their father’s closet drawer. The kids were playing with the handguns, assuming they were unloaded.