Earle teen dead in accidental shooting

Earle teen dead in accidental shooting

16- year- old with a gun dead after apparent misfire

news@theeveningtimes.com

A 16 year-old youth is dead following an accidental shooting at an Earle residence.

According to Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Todd Grooms, deputies were called to a home at 205 Lincoln Street around 10:30 p.m. Monday evening.

Grooms said an ambulance had already left with the victim by the time deputies arrived on the scene.

“When I arrived on the scene they briefed us as to what they had,” Grooms said. “There were four other individuals in the house at the time of the shooting. Nobody was talking at that time.”

Deputies transported four individuals who were inside the home at the time of the shooting to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning.

“I instructed the lieutenant to take the four individuals who were in the house with him to take them to the Sheriff’s office to get them out of the environment so they could talk to us,” Grooms said.

The victim’s brother told investigators that his brother went inside the bedroom to get his things to leave. They heard a gunshot and went running in to the bedroom. Grooms said he recovered a .25 caliber hand gun wrapped in a t shirt under the bed inside a bedroom.

“The brother saw a gun on the bed, wrapped it up and tried to hide it,” Grooms said. “He told me that his mamma didn’t allow guns in the house and he was trying to hide it.”

Grooms said it appears that the gun belonged to the victim and that it went off when he tried to stick it in his waistband.

“The entry wound is in the lower left abdomen in the area of his waistband,” Grooms said.

Grooms said the incident is still under investigation but they do not suspect any foul play.

“At this time we believe it was an accidental shooting,” Grooms said. “We are going to continue to follow up with it just in case more details surface.”

The name of the victim has not been released.

By the Evening Times News Staff