A 13-year-old boy is accused of fatally shooting a family member during an overnight argument at a home in western Louisiana, officials said Friday.
The boy, who hasn’t been named due to his his age, allegedly shot and killed 21-year-old Kavin Simmons Jr. after a verbal argument turned violent, the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Deputies and emergency medical personnel responded to a residence in Leesville, a small city of about 5,500 people near the Louisiana-Texas border, following a 911 call just before 12:30 a.m.
The victim was found with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Despite life-saving efforts by paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A subsequent investigation found that the boy “obtained a pistol and fired” at Simmons Jr. during the heated argument. Officials did not offer details on how the two were related.
The juvenile was arrested at the scene without incident and charged with one count of second-degree murder, according to the sheriff’s office. He’ll be held in a secure youth facility while awaiting court proceedings.
News of the 13-year-old boy’s arrest came less than a day after parish authorities announced the arrest of a 15-year-old boy over alleged threats of violence at Anacoco High School.
The teen, who’s accused of threatening another student in a message posted on social media Wednesday, “was immediately suspended from school and was subsequently arrested by VPSO detectives.”
Later that day, a 14-year-old student allegedly “typed a threatening message on a school-issued electronic device,” officials said. Though that boy was not arrested, he was “suspended from school immediately.”
