PATASKALA, Ohio — An Ohio teen was fatally shot when another teen pointed a gun laser in his eyes to distract him during a video game, and then pulled the trigger, according to authorities.
A complaint filed Monday in juvenile court in Licking County in central Ohio charged a 15-year-old boy with a juvenile count of reckless homicide. The complaint said the boys routinely “mess around with guns and pull the trigger.”
The boy who was charged “used the laser function of the gun to point the laser” to distract the other boy from playing the video game, and then pulled the trigger, hitting the victim in the head, the complaint said.
#NEW: a 15-year-old boy in Pataskala will face at least a felony reckless homicide charge according to police documents, after a deadly shooting early Sunday inside a Granville Street home. https://t.co/OgR760nwS1 pic.twitter.com/bavLje8vKq
— Geoff Redick (@GeoffWSYX6) January 27, 2020
The 15-year-old victim was found dead at the scene early Sunday.
Pataskala police detective Sgt. Gary Smith confirmed basic details of the shooting to The Advocate in Newark but stopped short of calling it an accident.
“We’re treating it as any shooting would be, at this point,” Smith said. “In any investigation like this, you can’t rule anything out.”
