QUEENS — A 12-year-old boy was charged with weapons possession after he shot his 14-year-old sister in the abdomen early Friday in Jamaica in an apparent accident while playing with a loaded gun, police said.
The shooting occurred at 2:25 a.m. in the family's apartment on 164th Street, between 104th Road and 107th Avenue, police said.
The boy, who was charged as a juvenile, told detectives that a friend gave him the .22-caliber revolver, police said.
The boy was playing with the gun in the living room and pulled the trigger three to four times before it fired, police said. The bullet accidentally hit his sister.
The girl was taken to Jamaica Hospital and was expected to survive, authorities said.
Apart from the boy and his sister, their brother was also in the house at the time of the incident, as well as the children's mother, her boyfriend and two of her friends, police said.
Morena Recinos, 62, who lives on the same block, said the news frightened her.
“A child got a gun," she said. "It’s scary, you are not safe."
“It happened inside, it could happen outside too," she said.
Xavier Crandle, a York College student, who also lives on the block, said that "it's not the best place in the world, but it's surprising that a child can find a gun."
Another neighbor, who did not want her name to be used, said that "it's a nice family. They always play with their kids, they have birthday parties for them."
"I'm sorry to hear what happened," she noted.
Chris Mckniff, a spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services said that the agency is "currently investigating" the case.
But a source said that a preliminary review after meeting with the family found no safety concerns which would lead to the immediate removal of the children from the house.
