JUST IN: Gardena boy, 12, kills himself playing with gun

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*UPDATE: The boy has been identified as Christopher Kinney.

A 12-year-old boy died Wednesday night after shooting himself in the
head while playing with a gun at his Gardena home.

The boy was alone in his room when a 14-year-old cousin, who was
babysitting him and two siblings, heard the gunshot at 5:45 p.m. and
found him, police said.

Gardena police officers responded to the house in the 14600 block of
Berendo Avenue and performed first aid until paramedics arrived. The
boy was taken to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he died at
9:30 p.m., Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast said.

The preliminary investigation indicated the gun was properly secured,
but the boy somehow got hold of it and was playing with it when it
went off, Prendergast said.

Police did not immediately know who owned the gun. The boy's name was
not immediately released.

No charges were pending, although the investigation was in its early
stages.

"Just a tragic accident, " Prendergast said.


 

1 Comments

Lindsay said:

hellow.....my name is lindsay vazquez and i knew chris. he waz an awsome friend and had a great personality. he waz always happy and never sad. we wer terribly sad when we heard chris had past and we were all crying and having a sad time the entire day. it waz sad when chris wasnt there for 4th period because he always made people laugh. im sorry for your sons death :(

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Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.

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This page contains a single entry by Larry Altman published on October 15, 2009 9:23 AM.

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