A minor argument between two children over a puppy turned deadly on Monday when an 11-year old boy from White Pine, Tennessee shot and killed his 8-year old neighbour and schoolmate girl whom he had been bullying since moving to the place some months back, according to the Jefferson County's Sherriff Department.
Sheriff Bud McCoig said the boy faces charges of first-degree murder in a juvenile court and is now in police custody. A detention hearing has been set for him on Monday, according to Rawstory.com.
The sheriff said the case "has been very tough to handle for the department'' since the shooting happened in a neighbourhood where all the kids knew each other and played together.
"We lost an 8-year old child, and our department is hurting,'' said McCoig, according to USA Today. "The murder has shaken up the neighbourhood and parents say their children are having a tough time handling it.''
Police reportedly found the girl on the ground Saturday evening with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was brought to Morristown-Hamblen Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, White Pine Police Department and Jefferson County EMS responded to the incident.
The fifth grade school boy, whose name has not been released, reportedly used his father's 12-gauge single-shot shotgun to kill his next-door neighbour identified by police as McKayla Dyer.
Dyer, a second-grader at White Pine Elementary School, was reportedly outside playing about 7:30 p.m. Saturday when her boy neighbour went to her and asked to see her puppy, but she told him no.
Latasha, Dyer's mother, told responding police that the boy immediately went home to get the shotgun and then shot her daughter in the chest.
She said the boy had been bullying her daughter since they moved to the mobile home park in White Pine. "He was making fun of her, calling her names — just being mean to her. I had to tell the principal about him, and he quit for a while, and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her."
"Watching the Tennessee football game, we heard the bang, and then everybody screaming that he shot her baby girl," said neighbour Chastity Arwood, according to USA Today.
"It breaks my heart because it's my niece and daughter's best friend," said Misty Edwards, whose niece, Hannah was reportedly playing with Mckayla and witnessed what had happened.
Sheriff McCoig said the judge has yet to determine whether the boy would be transferred to an adult court or remain in the juvenile court. The DCS is also reportedly trying to figure out whether the boy is in his stable state of mind when he committed the crime.
The Sheriff's department said an autopsy has been ordered for the victim.
