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6-Year-Old Dies After Being Shot By 4-Year-Old In NJ Backyard
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 10, 2013
Modified Apr 10, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 10, 2013
Modified Apr 10, 2013
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The apparently accidental shooting of a six-year-old boy by his four-year-old neighbor is now more heartbreaking: The victim, Brandon Holt, has died from his injuries. Toms River, NJ police chief Michael Mastronardy said, "Unfortunately, it’s a tragic accident. Right now, what we want to concentrate (on) is working with the family and helping them through this difficult time."
On Monday, Brandon had been playing with the four-year-old in the younger neighbor's backyard. The four-year-old apparently entered his family's home, took out a .22-caliber rifle—CBS 2's sources say the child got the rifle from under his parents' bed—and brought it out. It's unclear whether the child intentionally fired the gun or fired it by accident, but Brandon was struck in the head, with the bullet lodged in his brain, at 7 p.m.
Police chief Mastronardy said the four-year-old's parents "were in the yard nearby" when the rifle was fired. The father secured the rifle while the mother called 911. Brandon was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center and he died yesterday at 5 p.m.
The .22 rifle wasn't the only weapon from the four-year-old's home. Neighbors were aghast. Diane Mlenak was also angry, telling MyCentralJersey that she saw the police remove numerous guns from the house yestrday, "I counted each one and there were 11 of them. They were big guns and one had a giant scope. Why did he have these guns? Why isn’t he arrested?"
Another, Tracey Pistone, said, "This WAS the perfect neighborhood. I love my neighborhood. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. But this (shooting) has changed everything. It could have been any one’s child. The shot could have gone anywhere." And Stacey Supper told NBC New York, "I think it's a tragedy that could have been prevented. I feel the parents need to be accountable, totally need to be accountable," while Debbie Coto fumed, "My dad was a hunter. We had guns. Those guns were locked away. We didn’t know where to find them."
The Star-Ledger reports, "Police were investigating, among other things, whether the adults in the house were legally permitted to own the rifle. No charges have been filed but the investigation continues. The case has been transferred to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office because of a potential conflict of interest with a relative of the 4-year-old boy having a job in Ocean County law enforcement, authorities said."
Tagged
brandon holt
children and guns
gun violence
nj
rifle
tragedy
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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