Boy, 13, accidentally shoots friend dead playing with a gun

A 13-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his 14-year-old friend while they played with a gun. Photo via grzessiek at SXC Photo

Police say a 13-year-old Little Rock, Arkansas, boy accidentally shot his friend dead yesterday while they were playing with a gun, then in a panic covered his friend’s body with a blanket on a futon and ran from the home without telling anyone what happened.

The body of 14-year-old TyJuan Woodard was eventually discovered by the 13-year-old’s cousin.  However, at first he thought it was his 13-year-old cousin sleeping under the blanket, so he left him alone, said police.

A few hours later, the cousin took a closer look and realized the person he thought was sleeping on the futon wasn’t who he thought it was.

According to police, the cousin lifted TyJuan and noticed he wasn’t breathing.

The police report says that after 911 was called, medics found TyJuan on the floor face-up with blood on his face and chest.  They found what appeared to be a bullet wound in his chest.

According to police, everyone in the home said they didn’t know TyJuan or what happened to the teen.

According to police Lt Terry Hastings, TyJuan lived somewhere else and had previously run away from home.

A woman who said she was the 13-year-old’s grandmother said the boy stayed with his aunt Wednesday night.

“He said he was scared, but I wish he had told me, just told me something,” she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Hastings said it was still unknown how the boys got a hold of the gun, which belongs to one of the 13-year-old’s relatives.

No charges have been filed at this time.

Sources:  ABC News, the Daily Mail