Teenager Shoots His Buddy in the Back
Teen, 13, shot 12-year-old friend to death with laser-sighted pistol after joke: Police
by WHP StaffTue, April 4th 2023, 3:27 PM EDT
Police said a 13-year-old friend shot Kain Heiland with a black laser-sighted firearm, April 1, 2023. (WHP)
RED LION, Pa. (WHP) — A 12-year-old boy is dead and authorities say the tragedy happened at the hands of a friend, moments after the friend made a joke.
The Pennsylvania State Police said they were called Saturday night about a child laying on the ground between two homes in Red Lion, a borough south of Harrisburg.
The victim, Kain Heiland, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said there were three boys involved in the incident. There was Kain, the victim. Police identified a 13-year-old boy as the shooter, and they spoke to another boy who was a witness.
They were all friends, according to court documents.
Police said the witness told them the three walked to the suspect's home, and the suspect returned with a firearm.
Then, court documents said the suspect made a joke about Kain's mother. Kain responded by saying "shut up." And that's when the suspect raised a black laser-sighted firearm and shot Kain in his upper back at close range.
Kain fell and the boys checked his body, realized he was not moving, and went back to their homes.
The witness told police he described the situation to his mother.
The police were called.
Officers found the suspect and interviewed his father. They said the father told them he had a .380 Kel-Tec pistol in a hidden gun safe at the house.
Authorities said the father also told them his son contacted him after the shooting, and asked for him to come home. Then, when the suspect's father arrived, the pistol was secured in the safe.
At this point, it's still not known if the boy was arrested for the shooting.
Comments
What a damned shame, a little training for the kids would have prevented this tragedy.
I exposed my son to guns early in his life, how to shoot, all the safety rules and the meticulous maintenance of your guns.
I believe that if you spend some time with your kids and cover all aspects of firearm ownership that it takes the "mystery" out of guns for them making it much less likely that they would go behind your back and show off like this.
.
If the gun in question was in a "hidden safe" and was locked then how the heck did the kid get to it?
Just horrible
Wtf
Sad, looks like such a nice boy😓
"Independence Now, Independence Forever."
John Adams
Same thing happened in our neighborhood 25 years ago with two kids and a gun about the same age.
The family still lives in the area and I see them once in a while. The mother of the boy that was killed has never been the same since. It is a tragedy for the victim and the survivors.
"BLACK" laser sighted firearm,, all libs are thinking assault rifle
That is what we get for permitting hollywood to promote killing with firearms as entertainment and pushing it down our kid's throats. Guns are not the problem. The entertainment world is.
Training would not have prevented this IMHO. According to the report, this was intentional homicide!
That said, I do agree that countless accidental shootings would be prevented IG proper gun safety was taught. When I was a toddler I KNEW to not touch a gun. By the time I was prob 5 or 6 I KNEW how to handle a gun and the capability of a gun.
I agree. Too many times I see these stories and with just a minor bit of gun discipline these accidents would not happen.
Sometimes it is not even the kids. When we lived in Maine, a guy got killed at a hunting camp. Someone after the end of the day put their loaded handgun on a bed.
Someone else came in all tired and laid on the bed, the handgun went off and killed another hunter in the cabin.