Philadelphia authorities arrested the father of a 18-year-old man who had been charged with fatally shooting his twin brother with a handgun that allegedly belonged to their father.
Officer Miguel Torres confirmed the Thursday arrest of Aleem Gillard, 42, after the charges of murder and related offenses were dropped against his son Fayaadh Gillard, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Fayaadh Gillard was charged in the Dec. 1 fatal shooting of his twin, Suhail, at their father’s home in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia.
The twins’ father had been showing his sons and his 16-year-old daughter how to use two guns when one went off, according to District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Krasner said that after the shooting, Aleem Gillard instructed his surviving children to lie about what had happened.
“Upon further and careful investigation, we have concluded while Fayaadh did pull the trigger, he did not do so with criminal intent,” the district attorney said Wednesday. “This was a horrific accident for which the whole family will suffer, but for which he should not be held criminally liable under these circumstances.”
The twin brothers were attending Mastery Charter School’s Lenfest Campus as seniors and played on the football team.
