Coroner confirms 10-year-old Berks County boy died of gunshot wound
Nov. 28—The Lehigh County Coroner's Office has confirmed the 10-year-old boy who was shot on Thanksgiving in Hereford Township died of a gunshot wound.
According to First Deputy Coroner Daniel Buglio, an autopsy performed on Saturday showed the victim died of a gunshot wound to the body.
He said the manner of death is pending further investigation by state police and the Berks County district attorney's office.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the 8500 block of Chestnut Street in on Thursday around 1:45 p.m. for the report of a 10-year-old boy who was accidentally shot in a wooded area about 100 feet off the road.
Troopers said a person nearby fired three shots from a rifle at a homemade target on his property. The shots went through the target and struck the boy, troopers said.
The boy and the person who fired the rifle have not been identified.
An ambulance was there quickly and the crew carried the boy out of the woods to the ambulance, and went to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest near Allentown.
Buglio said the boy was pronounced dead at 2:54 p.m. at the hospital.
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said Friday that it was still early in the investigation to determine what happened.
"This is a very tragic situation," he said. "We have reached no conclusions whatsoever at this point and awaiting further results of our investigations to make a final determination of what took place.
"We will have to evaluate the evidence to determine if charges are appropriate and what are the appropriate charges," he added.
