Police seek 16-year-old boy accused of accidentally shooting girl in North Braddock

A 16-year-old girl shot in the face by an acquaintance Monday in North Braddock told the boy repeatedly she didn’t like guns and asked him to put it away, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Allegheny County police said they are searching for 16-year-old Damond Thomas, of West Mifflin, who allegedly continued to taunt the girl with the gun when it went off, shooting her in the cheek.

The shooting happened in the bedroom of a General Braddock Towers apartment about 8:30 p.m., police said.

According to the complaint, the teen girl and her cousin were hanging out at the apartment, which belonged to a relative. They invited Thomas and two others to hang out. Thomas and the other males – at least one of whom was a juvenile – arrived at the apartment, at which point Thomas produced a small black semi-automatic pistol, the girl told police.

She asked Thomas to put the gun away, saying she was afraid of guns, according to the complaint. Thomas waved the pistol in her face, and the gun went off. Thomas ran from the bedroom and out of the apartment, police wrote.

The cousin told police that Thomas at one point pressed the pistol to his or her face. The witness thought Thomas “might be joking around” but was very scared nonetheless, police said.

The victim and her cousin went so far as to lock themselves in the bathroom to get away from Thomas and the gun, according to the complaint. The cousin had moved to the living room to talk with the other two, leaving the victim alone with Thomas, police said. They heard a gunshot and turned to see the victim bleeding from the face.

The teenage girl was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

Thomas is charged as an adult with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and firearms violations. Anyone with information is asked to contact the county police tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

Staff writers Mike DiVittorio and Jacob Tierney contributed to this report.