NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Police have charged a 17-year-old boy after he allegedly shot and killed his younger brother inside the family's Stapleton Heights home earlier this month.
Officers responded to the apartment on Thompson Street near Bay Street around 11:55 p.m. on Feb. 16 and found 15-year-old Steven Estevez with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
The victim’s 17-year-old brother admitted to cops he shot his sibling but claimed it was "by accident," a high-ranking police source told the Daily News.
Steven Estevez was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he died the next day.
The older brother, whose identity has not been released at this time, is charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon that is a loaded firearm, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon.
The city’s Medical Examiner deemed Steven's death a homicide on Monday.
The Staten Island District Attorney's office was reportedly weighing the possibility of bringing upgraded charges against the brother.
David Estevez was arraigned Saturday in Criminal Court in St. George, where he entered a plea of not guilty, public records show.
A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing the teen, said out of respect for their client, his family and community, "we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the family’s privacy during this extraordinarily difficult time of mourning."
"We will have more to say about this case in the coming days, weeks and months after a thorough review and investigation," the statement added.
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