A 9-year-old boy accidentally killed a 15-year-old girl while playing with a gun on her family’s porch Saturday in Baltimore, according to police.
When the firearm was accidentally discharged, Nykayia Strawder, 15, was shot in the head, and the boy fled the scene, per police. Records indicate that the weapon was registered to an adult who is related to the 9-year-old and works as a security guard, police said.
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“Investigators spoke to several witnesses at the scene who informed them that the 9-year-old male was playing with a loaded handgun when it accidentally discharged, striking the [victim] in the head,” Baltimore police explained.
Due to his age, the 9-year-old cannot be charged with a crime under state law, but authorities will investigate the matter. Police are also collaborating with the state attorney’s office and may bring forth some charges related to the incident, but they did not specify who might face charges.
The teenager’s great aunt, Donyette McCray, claimed the boy had fought with Strawder’s brother on at least two occasions prior to the incident and carried the gun to Strawder’s family home.
“He needs to be accountable for his actions,” McCray said in an interview with CBS Baltimore. “I don’t have my baby. … She will never, ever be back.”
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Police said the loaded weapon “accidentally discharged.”
Strawder is the fifth teenager to be fatally shot in Edmondson Village this year, the outlet said. A vigil will be held for the teenager near where she was killed on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. local time.
