A 13-year old boy was charged with murder after shooting and killing his 14-year old friend, Zavier Mendoza, in Olathe, Kansas.  Because of the defendant’s age, his name was not released when the murder charge was announced.

The boy who was charged claimed that he didn’t know the gun was loaded when it went off.  According to an affidavit filed in connection with the case, four boys, including the 13 year-old and Mendoza stole the gun from a car and removed the magazine.  While playing with the gun later that night, Mendoza apparently put the magazine back in the gun and gave it to the 13-year old.

The 13-year old claimed that he didn’t realize that the magazine was back in the gun when he pointed it at a wall and pulled the trigger.  Mendoza, he said, moved in front of the gun as he was firing it.  The surviving boys then ran away and tossed the gun into the woods, where it was later found. 

Mendoza’s family requested privacy.  “Two young men’s lives have been destroyed, not much else to say on the matter,” Mendoza’s aunt said.

Source:

Katie Bernard, “13-year-old Charged with Murder in Johnson County Said He Didn’t Know Gun Was Loaded,” Kansas City Star (November 19, 2019).