Teen fatally shot while handling gun with friend in Bronx home
A 16-year-old was killed by a gunshot to the head while he and a friend were playing with a firearm inside a Bronx apartment early Monday.
Around 5:10 a.m. on Monday, officers arrived at a house on Prospect Avenue near East 169th Street in the Morrisania section of the Bronx after a report of a shooting. Inside, they discovered 16-year-old John Nunez with a mortal gunshot wound to the head; EMS personnel declared him dead on site. Law-enforcement sources indicated that Nunez and an unnamed companion were playing with a firearm when it accidentally fired.
The friend was arrested, but prosecutors have not immediately announced any charges. Investigators have not clarified how the teenagers obtained the gun. Witnesses described a scene of grieving women and family members gathered outside the building.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the danger of unsecured guns and the vulnerability of youth in urban neighborhoods.
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