When 15-year-old Nicholas King, of Indianapolis, Indiana knocked on the front door of his friend's house, his friend opened the door and pointed a Romarm 7.62 rifle at him. His friend wanted to scare Nicholas and thinking the gun was unloaded, he pointed and pulled the trigger.
The rifle fired and a round struck Nicholas in the neck. Paramedics were unable to revive the boy and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two adults were in the house at the time of the shooting and they did not know there was a rifle in the home. The gun belonged to 18-year-old Kevin Edwards. Kevin let his 15-year-old stepbrother handle the gun. It was the stepbrother who shot and killed Nicholas.
Nicholas' father told reporters that he believes Kevin bought the gun off Craigslist. He said is was too easy for his son's friend to get a gun.
Indiana allows for the private sale of guns, where there will be no background check run, no records kept. All Kevin had to do to purchase a gun was find what he wanted on Craigslist, arrange to meet the seller somewhere and give him the money. No paperwork, no background check, no waiting, no safety training.
Both Kevin and his stepbrother have been arrested. Kevin has been charged with criminal recklessness and his stepbrother has been charged with reckless homicide.
No comments:
Post a Comment