LUTHERSBURG — A 14-year-old Luthersburg boy is being charged with murder after allegedly fatally shooting a 12-year-old girl in Brady Township on Sunday, April 28, according to Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan P. Sayers and court documents.
The juvenile is being charged as an adult with murder of the third degree, a felony of the first degree; two counts of aggravated assault, a first-degree felony and a second-degree felony; involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor of the first degree; and recklessly endangering another person, a misdemeanor of the second degree; according to a criminal complaint filed at Magisterial District Judge David Meholick’s office Thursday, May 2.
The criminal complaint includes the name of the boy being charged and is available to the public. As part of The Progress policy, we are not publishing the accused juvenile’s name at this time.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 28 around 7:30 p.m., Pennsylvania State Police in DuBois responded to a report of a shooting at a residence on Bearfield Road, Brady Township, where a 12-year-old girl had been shot with a pistol by a 14-year-old boy.
The boy’s father told police his son was showing the victim a gun and it went off, according to the affidavit.
Upon arrival, officers noted the victim was unresponsive and had a gunshot wound to the head.
According to a news release from Sayers, the victim was transported to Penn Highlands DuBois Hospital for treatment, and was later flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
On Tuesday, May 1, at 8:28 a.m., the victim was pronounced dead by the attending physician at Children’s Hospital. The cause of death is preliminarily being ruled as blunt force trauma as a result of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the affidavit.
After receiving permission from the boy’s father, the boy was interviewed at the state police station in DuBois the night of the shooting.
According to the affidavit, the boy said he asked the victim if she wanted to see his dad’s gun. The boy told police he grabbed the gun and showed the victim, pointing it at her.
The boy said he asked the girl, “loaded or unloaded?” and after the victim responded, he told police he squeezed the trigger, according to the affidavit.
The boy said the firearm was a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol that was in a gun case on top of the safe located in the living room.
“It should be noted that through investigation, it has been determined the defendant has knowledge of firearms and firearm safety,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Police then spoke to the boy’s father, who said the pistol was in its original case, which was on top of the gun cabinet in the living room. He said he was unaware that his son knew it was there.
The boy’s father said he loads the magazines for his firearms, but never loads a bullet into the chamber, telling police the boy would have had to chamber a round for the shooting to happen, according to the affidavit.
Police seized the Smith & Wesson handgun and a spent shell casing from the residence.
The boy has a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 10 with Meholick.
“This is a heartbreaking and tragic shooting that occurred on Sunday evening in Brady Township,” said Sayers. “In the interest of justice, the difficult decision was made to charge this juvenile as an adult, instead of remaining in the juvenile system. I would also like to commend all of the troopers with the state police for their hard work, quick response, and thorough investigation in regards to this matter.”
The Pennsylvania State Police are being assisted in the investigation by the Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Clearfield County Juvenile Probation, and the offices of Clearfield and Jefferson County Children and Youth Services.
— This article has been updated from its original version to include information from the affidavit of probable cause
