5-Year-Old Boy Fatally Shot By 13-Year-Old During Making Of Social Media Video

Brooklyn Park, MN – A five-year-old boy was fatally shot by a 13-year-old boy on Thanksgiving while the teen and several other children were recording a social media video, according to police.

Brooklyn Park police described the horrific incident as an accident in a press release on Nov. 26.

Officers received a report at approximately 10:19 p.m. on Nov. 25 that a five-year-old boy had been shot at a residence in the 8000-block of Florida Avenue.

They responded to the home and tried to render first aid to the little boy, but he died of his wounds at the scene.

Investigators determined the shooting occurred as a 13-year-old boy and four or five other juveniles were trying to make a social media video, Brooklyn Park Police Department (BPPD) Deputy Chief Mark Bruley told WCCO.

The children somehow located a rifle, which they brought out to the garage to use in the making of the video, Deputy Chief Bruley explained.

The 13-year-old boy “was handling a gun” and fired the weapon, striking the victim, police said in the press release.

Another 13-year-old, another five-year-old, and an eight-year-old were also in the room at the time of the shooting, according to the Star Tribune.

Deputy Chief Bruley said the incident was “a very unfortunate accident” that remains under investigation, WCCO reported.

Police said there were adults present at the home at the time of the shooting and that the owner of the rifle could potentially face criminal charges.

“We, as adults, it’s our obligation to make sure [kids] don’t have access to [firearms],” Deputy Chief Bruley told WCCO.

Guns should be locked up and ammunition should be kept in a separate location, he added.

The 13-year-old boy who fired the weapon is currently incarcerated at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center and could be charged with manslaughter, WCCO reported.

Deputy Chief Bruley said the BPPD has been dealing with a sharp increase in calls involving firearms this year, according to the Star Tribune.

“We’re seeing record numbers of shots fired, gun calls, guns being taken off the streets,” he said. “The violence is unlike what we have seen before regarding weapons and guns.”