Every year, nearly 3000 children and teens die from gunfire, and nearly 14,000 are injured.

Monday, January 16, 2012

16-year old killed and 14-year old injured during home invasion

A 16-year old handicapped boy was killed and three others wounded, including his 14-year old brother, also handicapped, by three men in a home invasion in Duquesne, a suburb of Pittsburg. They lived in a gated apartment complex with a security guard.

This is the second shooting of children so far this year in Duquesne.

From the article:

A 16-year-old boy was killed and his grandmother was shot in the back on Saturday night when three gunmen stormed a Duquesne apartment, Allegheny County police said.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office today identified the victim as Daniel Peek.
The youth's 14-year-old brother was wounded, and their aunt was grazed in the head, Allegheny County police Sgt. Scott Scherer said. Police did not release their names.
....
About 10 people were in the apartment when the shooting occurred at 5:30 p.m., police said.
"They heard a knock at the door. They opened the door, and the shooting started immediately," Scherer said.
No arrests have been made. Scherer said the two teenagers had "palsy" but provided no further explanation.
....
"It's not just Duquesne," [Mayor] Krivacek said of the violence. "It's everywhere, and this kind of thing leads the news almost every night. I don't know what the answer is."
From a related article:
Daniel Peek's younger brother, Isaac, 14, told the Tribune-Review that he had just opened the door to go to buy candy when he heard blasts from an unseen gunman and got hit with a bullet.
"No one knocked. I had just gone out the door, and it happened," he said.
....
"Isaac fled inside when the shooting started," said his distraught mother, Charlene. "I screamed, 'Shut the door! Shut the door!' Daniel, my son, was laying in his own blood.
"But I don't want people to get the wrong idea about Daniel. People are going to see the news and think that he was in a gang or something like that. It couldn't be farther from the truth. He was handicapped. He just wanted to be accepted, to be loved. He wanted for all the kids to accept him.
"None of this makes any sense. He was a loving person who wouldn't do anything to anyone. He didn't even know anyone here. He just got here."
Like his brother Isaac, Daniel was born with radial club hands, their wrists bent and slanted up from underdeveloped forearms. Worried that he would be bullied by other teens because of his condition, the Peek family had planned to tutor Daniel at a home they recently rented in Pittsburgh while he attended Agora Cyber Charter School.
Affectionately nicknamed "Daniel Boone" by his Pennsylvania relatives, Peek was remembered as a well-behaved Christian who loved to sing and dance with his younger brother. An avid fan of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, he considered the Steelers his second favorite team and had rooted for them during their playoff loss last week to the Denver Broncos.

(Update 1/21/12): a 21-year old suspect has been arrested.

UPDATE (2/13/12):  The 14-year old watched his brother die in his mother's arms.

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