12-year-old shot dead by friend, 14, after gun left out in home

Markee Jones, 12, is shot dead at his grandmother’s Minnesota house as a loaded gun was left out among children

• Markee Jones, 12, was killed at his cousin’s birthday party in St. Paul on Saturday 
• An unnamed 14-year-old is in custody on charges of manslaughter, police said 
• Family is urging another unnamed person who left the gun to turn themselves in

A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot inside his grandmother’s home during a birthday celebration for his cousin – after playing with an unattended firearm brought by an unnamed guest, cops said.

Identified as Markee Jones, the child had been playing with the loaded handgun with an older sibling and cousin in St. Paul, Minnesota, Saturday – before it suddenly went off and left the preteen mortally wounded.

An unnamed 14-year-old male is currently in custody pending charges of manslaughter, cops said. 

The 14 youngsters who were in attendance had been slated to go go-karting, witnesses said, but are now in mourning after Markee’s death.

Relatives demanding justice maintain the incident was accidental. Family members also said someone they know is responsible for leaving the gun inside their home – and that it was done without their knowledge. 

They are now demanding that person come forward, seemingly in the know about who they are. Cop said they are now interviewing others who witnessed the incident.

Scroll down for video: 

Identified as Markee Jones, the child had been playing with the loaded handgun with an older sibling and cousin in St. Paul, Minnesota, Saturday – before it suddenly went off and left the preteen mortally wounded 

‘Why would he bring a gun into my sister’s house?’ one family member asked Saturday, as a procession of people remained outside the home on Stinson Street where the incident transpired

‘Why would he bring a gun into my sister’s house?’ one unnamed family member asked ABC affiliate KSTP-TV Saturday, as a procession of people remained outside the home on Stinson Street hours after the shooting.

‘That’s not right,’ the elderly woman added, revealing the home belonged to her sister, the victim’s grandmother, who she said had not been home when the gun was left unattended. 

The child’s mother Denisha Hill, however, was, but had been sleeping due to early hour, relatives said.

Hill, Markee’s mother, told The Star Tribute that the kids – including her son, his brother and a cousin – had been staying overnight at her mom’s house with plans of going go-karting.

‘My mom always has her grandkids over,’ she told the paper, as a procession of relatives gathered in the alley behind the home. 

Another family member, speaking anonymously, told KSTP-TV how in recent weeks there had been heated discussion amongst members of the sprawling family about safety surrounding guns – particularly around the family’s many children.

The deceased’s uncle, Martez Hill, further revealed that Saturday had been his son’s birthday, and that several of the boys had been playing with the firearm unbeknownst to adults before it went off.

‘My nephews and his brothers and his cousins were playing with a gun,’ a tearful Hill recounted, also seemingly aware of the identity of the gun owner.

‘This should’ve never happened,’ he added. ‘This was not the day for that. This should’ve never happened to my nephew.’

Denisha Hill, Markee’s mother, told The Star Tribute that the kids – including her son, his brother and a cousin – had been staying overnight at her mom’s house with plans of going go-karting

The deceased’s uncle, Martez Hill, further revealed that Saturday had been his son’s birthday, and that several of the boys had been playing with the firearm unbeknownst to adults in the domicile, before it ultimately went off

Another family member, speaking anonymously, told KSTP-TV how in recent weeks there had been heated discussion amongst members of the sprawling family about safety surrounding guns – particularly around the family’s many children

Nasiy Nasir X, national chairman of the Lion of Judah Armed Forces and leader of the New Black Panther Nation Minnesota, is helping the family, and is also asking the gun’s owner to turn themselves in

Detectives are now probing the incident, which, while accidental, is being treated as a murder. Statistics show that it’s the 22nd in the city so far this year.

That said, cops have since made an arrest – taking in to custody one unnamed 14-year-old.

The teen, whose relationship to the victim has not yet been revealed, is currently being held at the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center, cops from the St. Paul Police Department confirmed.

Some 11 hours earlier,  just before 5 am, officers were first called to the residence, after receiving a report of a juvenile male who had been shot.

They arrived to find the late victim severely wounded with the as-of-now unspecified injury that would later claim his life. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office on Sunday said it would not be revealing a cause of death until a later date.

No further information was available Sunday, though family members are still trying to come to terms with the loss of one of their youngest.

A visibly frustrated Hill told KSTP: ‘I love my nephews, I love them like they’re my son.

Speaking to The Tribune Saturday, the boy’s mother remembered Markee as ‘smart and always smiling’. Police said they are now interviewing the more than a dozen kids in the house at the time

‘We are shook, we are devastated, we are beyond angry. We also want justice.’ 

Lakrisha Hill, Markee’s aunt, added she hopes the incident ‘brings a lot of attention to people who have firearms.’

“To make sure you keep your gun safely locked away and kids are curious,’ she added. ‘Now I have a nephew to bury because of somebody else’s mistake.’

The boy’s mother, who lives in Inver Grove Heights, said her mother who owns the house was away at a religious retreat when the incident occurred.

She said that Hill had been the one was staying at the house, but that he was asleep when the early-morning shooting occurred.

Speaking to The Tribune Saturday, she remembered Markee as ‘smart and always smiling.

‘He was a happy, basketball playing kid who loved to be outside with his friends. He was a real boys’ boy,’ she said.

Nasiy Nasir X, national chairman of the Lion of Judah Armed Forces and leader of the New Black Panther Nation Minnesota, is helping the family, and is demanding the gun’s owner of the firearm turn themselves in.

‘(The) firearm does not belong to our beloved child, Markee,’ he said Saturday, joining several of the victims’ friends and relatives in the yard outside Markee’s grandmother’s house.

‘It belongs to someone else, so therefore this is negligence on their end. Whoever knows something, please step forward and say something. 

‘They can no longer get their child back. He’s not coming back. … If you know it’s your firearm that you left here, make sure you turn yourself in. 

‘You can turn yourself in to the New Black Panther Nation or you can turn yourself in to the police station, but turning yourself in is the right thing to do so this family can get justice and this family can rest and be at peace.’

Source: Read Full Article