VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two teenagers were arrested after a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed in Virginia Beach Thursday night, police said.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, juvenile possession of a firearm, and shooting inside an occupied dwelling, while a 15-year-old boy has been charged with obstructing justice, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Officers responded to the 4900 block of Almandine Avenue at the Cornerstone Condos shortly after 6:15 Thursday night.
When officers got there, they found the victim with a gunshot wound. The Virginia Beach Police Department said the first responder tried to provide aid to the victim, but he died from his injuries at the scene.
During a previously scheduled press conference, Police Chief Paul Neudigate called the shooting an accident.
He said the group of teens found the unsecured gun in the home and were handling it when it went off.
"Curiosity, mishandling, playing with a firearm, and now we have a deceased 14-year-old," said Neudigate.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools confirms the victim was a student at Kempsville High School. The following statement was sent out to Kempsville High families on Friday morning:
Good morning, Kempsville High School families,
It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of one of our students. Our hearts and sympathies are with the student’s family and the Kempsville High School community.
We will have additional counselors in the building for anyone who might need support. If you have any concerns about your child’s reaction to this loss, please contact his or her teacher or any counselor or administrator here at the school at 648-5450.
This is certainly a sad time for us, so I ask that you please keep the student’s family and our community in your thoughts. Thank you for your support of Kempsville High School.
A neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes the scene as tragic. She said she and her daughter were headed out to take their dog for a walk when they saw the responding officers.
"We weren’t sure what happened and then one of the neighbors posted that she had gotten home and said 'I did see a mom on my ring doorbell camera that was frantic saying that her son had passed away,’" she recalls.
When she heard it was a teenager, she couldn't believe it.
"Ugh, I was hoping it wasn't true."
Neudigate said that seeing so many teenagers get their hands on guns is upsetting — whether they're getting them from other teenagers online, in the home or breaking into cars.
"You have a firearm and you are not following the basic rules of safety, the firearms goes off and now we have a dead family member, a dead friend," he said. "The level and the amount of firearms in juveniles that we see in the city of Virginia Beach, that we see in Hampton Roads, is disturbing."
He urges the community the exercise caution.
"To the community, please secure those firearms," said Neudigate. "Second Amendment, there is a right to own firearms. But I would offer, with that right, should come some responsibility and I don't think that's always the case."
The neighbor says their entire neighborhood is thinking about the boy's family.
"My breaks for the mom, his parents."
The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting can submit a tip to the Crime Line by calling 1-888-562-5887 or by using P3 Tips online.