According to ABC 7 Chicago ,a 17-year-old boy is facing charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm after accidentally shooting a 14-year-old girl, Jasmine Snipe, in her home. Snipe was rushed to the hospital where she was in critical condition, but is now stable.
The young man, whose name has not been released, turned himself in on Wednesday after community activist Andrew Holmes spoke to the young man's grandmother and convinced him to go to the police. "I let him know your life is not over. You can go through this process and put things behind you and get on with your future just as well as the young lady that's in the hospital," Holmes says. "I hope she has a speedy recovery because she has a bright future ahead of her, too."
The teenager was reportedly showing the girl a handgun at her home when the firearm accidentally went off, hitting her in the chest and neck.
Snipe's brother Tidrick Gilmore spoke to ABC 7 about the incident, saying, "my sister indicated it was an accident. He didn't intentionally try to do it. He was showing off the gun. He shouldn't have had the gun in the house in the first place."
When asked about the 17-year-old's reaction, Gilmore added, ""He was real scared about it. He was here for her when it happened, but he was just really scared. I think that's why he ran. Because it took place and he should have never had the gun."
Gilmore continued to say that his family is not angry at the young man, and that they still don't know who the handgun belonged to.
The teen appeared in juvenile court on Thursday to face his charges.
Snipe is yet another victim of the gun violence epidemic that has taken hold on Chicago's inner-city communities. While her life was spared, many others are not so lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment