Jeremiah Pruitt of Birmingham, Alabama, age 13, was shot and killed by one of his 11-year old twin brothers in a gun accident today.  The boys had found a gun in a drawer and were playing with it when the accident occurred.

The boys’ mother, Starcrease Pruitt, was at one of her two jobs when the accident occurred.  She blamed herself for allowing a relative to keep a gun in her home.  Jeremiah’s last words, Ms. Pruitt said, were to his younger brother: “Why you shot me?”

Ms. Pruitt was aware that she has two burdens to bear, including demonstrating her love to her 11-year old son that pulled the trigger. “Now I’m trying to not only bury a son, but I’m trying to heal one from the pain. I had to remind him that I still love him and that this is not his fault,” she said.

“I want my son for Christmas,” Pruitt said. “He was the sweetest child you’ll ever meet,”

Source:

Lee Hedgepeth, “Burying One Son, Healing Another: Birmingham Mother Reflects on Tragic Shooting of 13-year-old Jeremiah Pruitt,” CBS 42 (December 22, 2021).