Mississippi boy, 9, fatally shoots sister, 14, in the head over a video game
Dijonae would not give up a video game controller when her brother wanted it, police sources said, the brother went to another room retrieved a gun, then shot his sister. Her back was turned at the timeof the shooting with a .25 caliber handgun, on Saturday. The bullet went through the back of the head and passed through her brain.
Dijonae was rushed to Le Bonheur’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis where she died at 6:45 p.m. Sunday.
Dijonae White [photo] was shot in the backof the head when she would not give up a video game controller when her brother wanted it, on Mar 17
This is uncharted territory for most of the authorities on the case because of the nature of the shooting and the age of the alleged shooter. Were the same crime committed by an adult, it would be said to show intent, Cantrell said.
“But there’s a lot of difference between a 9-year-old and a 19-year-old,” he said. “Between a 9-year-old and a 6- or 7-year-old there’s not a lot of difference.”
The children’s mother was in another room feeding lunch to three or four other children when the shooting occurred, Cantrell said. Sheriff Cantrell said the siblings’ mother, Chalandra White was in another room at the Okolona family home feeding lunch to other children when ‘the incident’ happened,
Authorities don’t know how the child had access to the weapon they say he used to shoot his sister, but authorities said they believe the weapon belonged to the mother’s live-in boyfriend.Okolona
Chalandra White [right], was in another room at the Okolona family home, feeding lunch her other children when the shooting happened
In Mississippi, there is no law that holds an adult responsible when children have access to weapons that are not secured. Cantrell said at this point it’s just not clear whether there will be charges on the adults in the home, or on the 9-year-old alleged shooter.
“The juvenile court will be in charge of what happens with him at this point. I think this is new ground for them, also,” the sheriff said.
It’s also unclear how much knowledge the boy had of the dangers of guns.
“In my opinion, kids watch video games where they shoot each other and hit the reset button and they come back to life. It’s not like that in the real world,” Cantrell said.
“I’m not saying that’s necessarily what happened, but kids now are different from what they were when we were growing up.”
Since this case involves children, Cantrell has said his investigators will not rush the investigation: “That’s why I’m not too fast to say anything because there are juveniles involved. We want to do what’s right and we’re going to get it right,” he said Sunday.
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