Authorities work to piece together sibling shooting

Stock image, St. George News

CEDAR CITY – What appears to have started as a sibling argument quickly turned tragic after a young boy shot his older stepsister in the back, authorities said.

A 15-year-old female was airlifted from Henrieville to Salt Lake City Sunday night after her younger brother allegedly shot her in the back during what police are calling an “altercation.” Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said the male juvenile was around 12 or 13-years-old but he was unsure of his exact age.

The female is now considered to be in stable condition.

The case is still in the early investigation stage and authorities were not able to provide many details of the incident.

“We don’t have a lot of details right now,” Perkins said. “We just found out today (Wednesday) that she was able to answer questions so a couple of my deputies went up there to talk to her.”

Perkins said he wasn’t sure yet what the argument was about or why the boy decided to allegedly pick up the gun.

“We don’t believe at this point, or at least it doesn’t appear, that it was an accident but that’s about all I know right now,” Perkins said.

There was also no information on who the gun belonged to or how the boy got a hold of it.

The boy was arrested and is currently being held in the Richfield Juvenile Detention Center. Perkins did not elaborate on what charges he is facing but said the Garfield County Attorney will ultimately make the decision on what, if any, charges will be filed against him.

The names of the juveniles were also both withheld for privacy reasons. Juveniles involved in this incident as victims, accused, witnesses or otherwise are not named in light of privacy considerations.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

 

 

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