Georgia teenager took his own life after accidentally shooting friend, police say
A teenage boy in Georgia took his own life after he accidentally shot and killed one of his friends on New Year’s Eve.
Devin Hodges, 15, was showing three of his friends a handgun in a cramped shed when he accidentally fired a shot, according to Gwinnett County Police. The bullet struck one of the boys, Chad Carless, 17, and the others left the shed to call 911.
Carless died from his injuries before help could arrive. As responding officers arrived on scene they saw Hodges running between two houses before another shot rang out.
Hodges was found a short distance from the makeshift shed with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police are still investigating the incident and neighbors told local television station WSB-TV that they are trying to understand what happened.
“I mean, it was really sad. They were so young,” said Tanya Guiterrez, who lived in the neighborhood for 12 years. "Something like this never happened before. It’s sad and tragic.”
There were at least 204 unintentional shootings by children in 2018 according to data collected from media reports by Everytown, a gun-control advocacy group.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia teenager took his own life after accidentally shooting friend, police say
