15-year old Arkansas boy shoots 16-year old sister in her sleep

Candace Harvey, age 16

A 15-year old boy, Colton Harvey, confessed to shooting and killing his 16-year old sister, Candace Harvey, in her sleep, in their Ozark, Arkansas home, with a .22-caliber rifle while their parents were out shopping.

From the article:

"The dispatcher said he didn't have any tears in his eyes, and you know, told what he had done, but he seemed remorseful," [Sheriff] Boen said. "(He) never really gave a reason why he done it -- even when the state police investigated him. He didn't know why."

Boen said a .22 caliber rifle was confiscated from the home along with other weapons. The weapon used is still in question."

According to the dad, the child, he was a avid hunter. The family had several weapons in the home, and the boy has his own weapons, as well, so as far as whether the weapon belonged to the juvenile or the dad, we're not sure of that."

Authorites said the parents were out of town shopping in Fort Smith.

Shooter Colton Harvey, age 15

One might question whether a 15-year old is responsible enough to own guns of his own, even if a hunter.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Update (1/17/12): From a follow-up article:

Students said they learned of the news on social media sites like Facebook. "I'm just shocked. It makes me realize it could happen to anybody. You would never think it would happen to them -- they were nice people," Buck said.

Update (1/26/12): Another follow-up article.

UPDATE (6/8/12):  Colton has been sentenced to 45 years.  From the article:

Colton Harvey, 15, grabbed his father's .22-caliber rifle one January morning while his parents were out grocery shopping. He walked into his 16-year-old sister Candace's room, pointed it at her forehead and fired. She awoke with a scream, so he shot her in the head twice more.

He threw some clothes and ammunition in his father's pickup truck and took off, driving first into the hills but then to the sheriff's office, where he chickened out in the parking lot. He drove to a friend's for some chewing tobacco — a vice that led to his parents grounding him days earlier — and then back to the sheriff's, where this time he found the courage to go in and confess.

"I don't know why I did it. It just happened," Harvey told state police investigator Corey Mendenhall hours later, according to a transcript of the interview in which he described in detail what happened that morning.

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