BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn (PIX11) — The preteen accused of killing his 14-year-old cousin shot him with a sawed-off shotgun while the two were playing with the weapon in a Brooklyn NYCHA apartment on Sunday, authorities said.
“The barrel and the stock were cut off to make it shorter,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said during a briefing Tuesday.
Authorities found Josai Guy, 14, with a gunshot wound to the chest in a bloody bedroom in the apartment in Howard Houses on Osborn Street in Brownsville at around 10:25 a.m., Kenny said. Guy was rushed to the hospital but could not be saved.
“Doctors describe the gaping chest wound and a hole in the victim’s heart,” Kenny said.
The victim’s cousin, 12, was charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence, criminal possession of a weapon, and homicide charges, according to police. He told cops he was trying to take the gun away from his cousin when it went off.
Investigators also found shotgun pellets embedded in the wall, Kenny said. There was one shell casing at the scene and five live rounds inside the shotgun.
The shotgun was not registered to anyone who lived in the apartment, police said. The grandfather was babysitting the boys when the shooting happened and told cops he didn’t know there was a gun in the home. The gun’s owner could face criminal possession of a weapon charges, police said.
“Once you take a shotgun and cut it, you basically turn that shotgun into a firearm, so it is treated the same as if you were carrying a pistol,” Kenny said.
The case is being handled by the district attorney’s office and Family Court. The investigation is ongoing.