NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A 13-year-old boy is charged with murder, accused of shooting and killing his 16-year-old friend by accident in Norristown.
Norristown Police responded to reports of a shooting on Arch Street near Oak Street around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and said officers found a 13-year-old on the porch with his mother. He told them he was responsible for shooting his friend, 16-year-old William Boyd, in the face and killing him.
The 13-year-old told police he found the gun next to a trashcan about a week earlier, and that Tuesday morning, Boyd told him to bring the gun over to his house.
According to charging documents, the 13-year-old said he checked the gun twice to make sure it wasn’t loaded, but he thinks, after the two smoked marijuana, Boyd put bullets in it when he went to the bathroom.
The boy said he was watching TikTok on his phone tapping the trigger and after the gun went off and hit Boyd in the face. He told police he then threw it across the room, scared it would go off again, and ran to his house to get his mother.
Authorities said the gun was reported stolen out of Philadelphia in June.
The 13-year-old is charged with third degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, receiving stolen property, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
