‘JUST DEVASTATING’

Florida Teen Charged in Death of 6-Year-Old Who Accidentally Shot Himself

The 14-year-old was charged with negligence in the death of the child, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.

A 6-year-old in Jacksonville, Florida, died Tuesday after shooting himself with a gun, and a 14-year-old boy has now been charged in connection with his death. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday it was charging the 14-year-old for culpable negligence in the death of 6-year-old Danny Waye III. Police say Waye was watching TV in a bedroom when he stumbled upon the gun. While playing with it, he shot himself in the head. Police said they charged the teen because he had previously touched the firearm and left it near Waye. Mark Shields, the little boy’s uncle, said Waye’s grandmother was home at the time of the shooting but was asleep. Another uncle said the gun was brought into the house by a friend.

“It is just devastating. Everyone is hysterical, my wife is hysterical and my grandmother,” Shields told the Florida Times-Union. “This is an accidental shooting.”