WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — A 14-year-old boy has been charged with killing a 13-year-old boy while they were playing with a gun at a home in western Pennsylvania.
The Westmoreland County coroner identified the dead boy as James Gustafson, of Mount Pleasant.
Online court records show police have charged a 14-year-old boy as an adult with criminal homicide and illegal possession of a firearm by a minor.
Police said the two teenagers were in the South Church Street house, visiting a friend with three younger children, a babysitter and another teenager, when they somehow got a hold of a gun inside the home. A criminal complaint says the 14-year-old told police that he and James were playing with the gun when the younger boy was shot in the face Sunday evening.
Authorities said it's still unclear who the gun belongs to, adding the clip was not in the gun, but there was still a single bullet in the chamber that ultimately killed James.
Sources tell Channel 11 News that the father of the three young children was working overnight as an EMT with a local ambulance company when the shooting happened.
The boy was arraigned early Monday and sent to the county juvenile detention center because of his age.
He faces a preliminary hearing March 31.
Meanwhile, family and friends remembered James Monday.
"He always put a smile on your face. He always had a smile on his face. He enjoyed every minute of life,” Mount Pleasant Mayor Jerry Lucia said.
This story was written by The Associated Press.
Editor's note: The suspect's name was removed from this story after the case was moved to juvenile court.