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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8507623.htm
Teenage boy playing with gun injures friend when it goes off
A Palm Beach County teen is in juvenile detention after a gun he was playing with accidentally fires.
BY TIM O'MEILIA AND WILLIAM COOPER JR.
Palm Beach Post
WEST PALM BEACH - Thirteen-year-old Tronnie Watson was posing in front of a mirror with a .38-caliber revolver when it fired once, wounding a playmate Thursday.
The Bear Lakes Middle School student had taken the gun from a high kitchen cabinet in his Mangonia Park home before squeezing the trigger once, maybe twice, clicking on empty cylinders before the revolver finally discharged, his lawyer said Friday.
Next-door neighbor Chambrell Dunn, also 13, was struck in the right hand, left biceps and left cheek. She was in St. Mary's Medical Center in fair condition Friday. Her wounds are not serious.
''It's my understanding it was an accident,'' defense attorney Jonathan Kaplan said. ``The victim told police it was an accident.''
But prosecutors said Watson looked in the mirror and pointed the gun at his friend.
The teen is charged with attempted murder with a firearm. At a court hearing Friday, Palm Beach County Juvenile Court Judge Roger Colton ordered Watson to remain in the juvenile detention center until arraignment Tuesday.
Seconds after the shooting, Dunn, a student a John F. Kennedy Middle School, ran outside screaming. A few doors away, Tara Preston, 31, and her boyfriend stood to see what was happening.
''Tara, help me. I've been shot,'' said Preston, recalling the girl's panicked words. ''He [Watson] was running right behind her and he was crying."
Preston said she laid the girl down and called 911.
The Tiffany Lakes neighborhood where the shooting happened was unusually quiet for a Friday afternoon, neighbors said. Kids stayed inside. Conversation was muted.
Chambrell is a favorite of the younger children in the area, including Watson's 2-year-old sister, Tealisha. She often visited the Watson home to play with her.
''She loved children,'' said Jereleen Cutliff, 21, a neighbor. ''That's why she's still here, because she loved these kids.'' She said visited Chambrell in the hospital and the girl said the shooting was an accident.
Tron, as Watson was called, often played with his best friend's PlayStation 2 in the utility room at his apartment, said Michelle Reed, 32, the friend's mother. She said both were caring, good children.
In court Friday, Watson sat motionless and silent while his mother and father, Angela and Tonnie Watson, pleaded for his release on house arrest or electronic
surveillance. Nine family members took up the second row of the courtroom.
''I know in my heart . . . that he didn't intentionally do this to hurt anyone,'' Angela Watson, 42, tearfully told Colton.
Kaplan said young Watson had a solid school record and would lose a year if he had to remain in custody.
The teen was suspended from school for five days March 2 for fighting but has no juvenile record.
Colton railed against gun possession. In a raised voice, he urged gun owners to get rid of them. ''Get rid of them all,'' he said.
``This is a young man of tender years. He's only 13 years old, 13 years old with a gun. . . . We can all thank our lucky stars that Chambrell is not dead.'' Give Chambrell a few years, he'll either die of lead poisoning or end up in prison.
A Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesman said no decision would be made on whether to charge Watson, either as an adult or a juvenile, or whether charges would be filed against his parents until after the Mangonia Park police forward the results of their investigation.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8507623.htm
Teenage boy playing with gun injures friend when it goes off
A Palm Beach County teen is in juvenile detention after a gun he was playing with accidentally fires.
BY TIM O'MEILIA AND WILLIAM COOPER JR.
Palm Beach Post
WEST PALM BEACH - Thirteen-year-old Tronnie Watson was posing in front of a mirror with a .38-caliber revolver when it fired once, wounding a playmate Thursday.
The Bear Lakes Middle School student had taken the gun from a high kitchen cabinet in his Mangonia Park home before squeezing the trigger once, maybe twice, clicking on empty cylinders before the revolver finally discharged, his lawyer said Friday.
Next-door neighbor Chambrell Dunn, also 13, was struck in the right hand, left biceps and left cheek. She was in St. Mary's Medical Center in fair condition Friday. Her wounds are not serious.
''It's my understanding it was an accident,'' defense attorney Jonathan Kaplan said. ``The victim told police it was an accident.''
But prosecutors said Watson looked in the mirror and pointed the gun at his friend.
The teen is charged with attempted murder with a firearm. At a court hearing Friday, Palm Beach County Juvenile Court Judge Roger Colton ordered Watson to remain in the juvenile detention center until arraignment Tuesday.
Seconds after the shooting, Dunn, a student a John F. Kennedy Middle School, ran outside screaming. A few doors away, Tara Preston, 31, and her boyfriend stood to see what was happening.
''Tara, help me. I've been shot,'' said Preston, recalling the girl's panicked words. ''He [Watson] was running right behind her and he was crying."
Preston said she laid the girl down and called 911.
The Tiffany Lakes neighborhood where the shooting happened was unusually quiet for a Friday afternoon, neighbors said. Kids stayed inside. Conversation was muted.
Chambrell is a favorite of the younger children in the area, including Watson's 2-year-old sister, Tealisha. She often visited the Watson home to play with her.
''She loved children,'' said Jereleen Cutliff, 21, a neighbor. ''That's why she's still here, because she loved these kids.'' She said visited Chambrell in the hospital and the girl said the shooting was an accident.
Tron, as Watson was called, often played with his best friend's PlayStation 2 in the utility room at his apartment, said Michelle Reed, 32, the friend's mother. She said both were caring, good children.
In court Friday, Watson sat motionless and silent while his mother and father, Angela and Tonnie Watson, pleaded for his release on house arrest or electronic
surveillance. Nine family members took up the second row of the courtroom.
''I know in my heart . . . that he didn't intentionally do this to hurt anyone,'' Angela Watson, 42, tearfully told Colton.
Kaplan said young Watson had a solid school record and would lose a year if he had to remain in custody.
The teen was suspended from school for five days March 2 for fighting but has no juvenile record.
Colton railed against gun possession. In a raised voice, he urged gun owners to get rid of them. ''Get rid of them all,'' he said.
``This is a young man of tender years. He's only 13 years old, 13 years old with a gun. . . . We can all thank our lucky stars that Chambrell is not dead.'' Give Chambrell a few years, he'll either die of lead poisoning or end up in prison.
A Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office spokesman said no decision would be made on whether to charge Watson, either as an adult or a juvenile, or whether charges would be filed against his parents until after the Mangonia Park police forward the results of their investigation.
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