Authorities in Tennessee say an 11-year-old boy shot and killed his 8-year-old neighbor Saturday after she wouldn't let him see her puppy.
Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig told The Washington Post the boy has been charged with first-degree murder in the girl's death, and the case could eventually be transferred to adult court. McCoig said each child had a puppy, but when the boy asked to see the girl's puppy and she refused, he went into his house and retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun that belonged to his father and was in an unlocked closet. He fired from inside the house, hitting the girl as she stood outside in her yard. First responders found her with a gunshot wound to the chest, McCoig said, and she later died at a local hospital.
McCoig did not name the children, who both attended White Pine School in White Pine, Tennessee, but Latasha Dyer told WATE that her daughter McKayla was the victim. "She was a precious girl," she said. "She was a mommy's girl. No matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile." Dyer said she went to White Pine School's principal because the boy was "making fun" of her daughter, "calling her names, just being mean to her." After talking with the principal, she said, "he quit for awhile, and then all of a sudden... he shot her." Counselors are on hand to offer support to students and staff at White Pine School, and McCoig said his department is getting through the investigation "by the grace of God."
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