Correction: Paintball Argument-Shooting story
Dec 21, 2012, 3:11 AM
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – In a story Dec. 19 about a South Dakota teenager being charged in the fatal shooting of his friend, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the accused shooter and the teen who died had argued before the shooting. Police say the argument was between the accused shooter and a third teenager in the house who witnessed the shooting.
A corrected and updated version of the story is below:
By DIRK LAMMERS
Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) _ A 16-year-old boy fatally shot his friend with a shotgun at the boy’s home in South Dakota after arguing with another teen about a paintball game, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.
The victim, Dalton Williams of Pierre, was found lying in the entryway of the accused shooter’s house around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday with a gunshot wound to the chest. Paramedics rushed the high school sophomore to a nearby hospital, but he later died.
The accused shooter was arrested at the home on a first-degree murder charge and was being held Wednesday in Hughes County, Pierre Police Chief Bob Grandpre said.
The teenager’s attorney did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday. The boys, both 16, were classmates at Riggs High School.
The third teen, described by police as a witness, told detectives that he and the accused shooter began to wrestle around jokingly after arguing about a paintball game.
He said the accused shooter then got a semi-automatic shotgun, walked into the kitchen area and pointed it at him, according to the arrest affidavit.
The witness said he heard the gun click, then saw the accused shooter take a shotgun shell out of a drawer, load the gun and point it at him again. The teen said he then heard another click.
The witness told police he was trying to leave the house through a sliding glass door when Williams stepped between him and the accused shooter. He said the gun fired, and Williams was hit.
The witness then left the house and called 911.
Grandpre confirmed the argument and the wrestling occurred between the witness and the accused shooter. He said law enforcement, Pierre School District personnel and mental health professionals are providing support to the school and community.
“We’re continuing the investigation to make sure we understand everything that we believe happened inside the house,” he said Wednesday.
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