In Brownsville, Brooklyn, authorities revealed that a preteen allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old cousin with a sawed-off shotgun while playing with the weapon in a NYCHA apartment on Sunday.
During a briefing, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated, “The barrel and the stock were cut off to make it shorter.”
14-year-old Josai Guy was discovered with a gunshot wound to the chest in a bloody bedroom in the Howard Houses apartment on Osborn Street in Brownsville around 10:25 a.m. Guy was taken to the hospital but sadly did not survive.
“Doctors described the gaping chest wound and a hole in the victim’s heart,” Kenny mentioned.
The victim’s 12-year-old cousin faces charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence, criminal possession of a weapon, and homicide. He claimed to authorities that he was attempting to disarm his cousin when the gun discharged.
Additionally, investigators found embedded shotgun pellets in the wall, along with one shell casing at the scene and five live rounds inside the shotgun.
The unregistered shotgun belonged to nobody in the apartment, according to police. The grandfather, who was looking after the boys at the time of the incident, stated that he was unaware of the gun’s presence in the home. The owner of the gun may face criminal possession of a weapon charges.
“Once you take a shotgun and cut it, you basically turn that shotgun into a firearm, so it is treated the same as if you were carrying a pistol,” Kenny explained.
The case is currently under the jurisdiction of the district attorney’s office and Family Court as the investigation continues.
