'Loaded or unloaded?' 14-year-old boy charged in fatal shooting of 12-year-old girl in Pennsylvania
A 14-year-old boy in Pennsylvania has been charged as an adult with murder in connection to the shooting of a young girl, prosecutors said Friday.
Court papers obtained by USA TODAY show the fatal shooting took place over the weekend in the small community of Luthersburg in Brady Township, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Pennsylvania State Police, troopers responded to the boy's home Sunday evening for a report of a 12-year-old girl who had been shot by someone with a pistol.
Arriving officers found the girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in critical condition.
Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan Sayers told USA TODAY the girl was taken to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, where she was pronounced dead on Wednesday.
Before the shooting, investigators wrote in the complaint, the suspected shooter − a 14-year-old boy − told troopers he and the victim were sitting on a couch and he asked her if she wanted to see his father's Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun.
As of Friday, troopers had not released the victim's name.
USA TODAY is not naming the minor.
Teen: 'Loaded or unloaded?'
In court papers, investigators wrote, the teen said he got the gun out of a case on top of a safe in the living room of the family's home.
The teen told detectives he then said to the victim, "loaded or unloaded?" pointed the firearm at the girl, and pulled the trigger, striking her in the head, court papers continue.
"After squeezing the trigger, the victim dropped," the boy told investigators, and he went to alert his father, who called 911.
Dive boat fire that killed 34:California captain Jerry Boylan sentenced to 4 years in prison for deadly fire
Troopers: Father said no bullet was in pistol's chamber
When troopers interviewed the boy's father, court papers continue, he told them he did not think his son knew where the gun was stored.
The father also told investigators he loads the magazine for his firearms but never loads a bullet into the chamber. He said his son may have inserted a round from the magazine in order for the gun to fire, investigators wrote.
Boy charged as an adult in shooting death of 12-year-old girl
On Thursday, court papers show, prosecutors had charged the boy as an adult. He is charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment.
"It was a difficult decision... a tough one," Sayers told USA TODAY Friday.
Under the law, the crime of murder − no matter a person's age in the state − is a non delinquent act, Sayers said, meaning juveniles can be charged as an adult.
The prosecutor said the children knew one another but are not related.
As of Friday, no charges had been filed against the boy's father, Sayers said.
'Could have been a far worse tragedy':Wisconsin police kill armed teen outside school
Teen jailed without bond at county jail
Court records show the teen was behind held without bond at the county jail.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for May 10.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.