COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 15-year-old was shot and killed by another teen Sunday in Colerain, the Colerain Police Department said. Now, gun safety advocates are speaking out.
The shooting happened around 9 p.m. in the 3000 block of Laverne Drive. A 16-year-old was arrested and charged with the homicide, and according to court documents the teen brought the gun and ammunition to the home.
WCPO 9 obtained the 911 call made to first responders when the shooting happened. The teen who charged in the shooting called 911 and told the operator he shot his friend, and that it was an accident. The teen said he "accidentally pulled the trigger," shooting the 15-year-old.
The 16-year-old, who is being held at the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center, apologized over and over during the phone call.
In the wake of the deadly shooting, Rufus Johnson, a well-known gun safety advocate, told us the steps he teaches kids to follow when they come across a firearm.
"Report it, the second thing is always keep your hands off the trigger, the third thing never point a firearm at a person. These are a lot of things that young people do when they find firearms and it causes a lot of accidents," Johnson said.
Johnson said a lot of accidents happen when a child doesn't know how to handle a gun, or if there's ammunition.
“These are kids that when they see a gun, they don’t know if there’s one in the chamber. They don’t know if it’s loaded," Johnson said.
Johnson called on parents to get involved, to make sure they're doing what's necessary to keep their kids away from life-threatening danger.
“Check your kids' book bags, check their cars. If you don’t know nothing about gun safety, contact me, and go through a gun safety class,” he said.
Dorron Hunter, founder of Future Ambassadors, Inc., a local organization that works directly with local youth, said the organization is hoping to kids them away from violence.
His organization focuses on education and opportunity, specifically with kids from areas with a high crime rates.
Hunter's work includes bringing kids together in summits and groups, and helping them process emotions without falling into violence.
“Sometimes our young people make bad decisions, bad choices, and it ends up with bad consequences. So if we can change the mindset of our youth and get them to understand, guns are dangerous," Hunter said.
