11-year old Colorado boy shoots self to death with brother's stolen gun

Andres Limas, age 11

18-year old Jordan Limas had recently stolen a .22-caliber handgun.  He had placed the unlocked, loaded gun on a table when his 11-year old brother, Andres Limas, walked in and grabbed it, thinking it was a toy.  He was headed out of the room toward other kids when Jordan tried to get the gun out of Andres' hands.  The gun went off, striking the boy in the chest.  Andres died from his wound.

Though Jordan confessed to stealing the gun, it had not been reported stolen.

From an article:

The report released Monday states that Jordan Limas, 18, told Weld County Sheriff’s deputies that he left the loaded gun on a dining room table. Limas said he saw that his brother, Andre Limas, a sixth-grader at John Evans Middle School, was headed outside with the gun, where other children were standing. 

He told police that Andre said “Ya, right,” when he told he told him the gun wasn’t a toy. Limas told deputies he struggled with his brother to get the gun, and it went off when he had it in his hand. He said he heard Andre say “Jord, Jord, it hurts” before he collapsed, according to the report. He said he held Andre and took him outside while screaming for his girlfriend to call 911. 

Limas said his grandfather arrived at the house and took Andre back inside, where sheriff’s deputies found the boy. 

Deputies found no vital signs and performed CPR on Andre. He was taken to North Colorado Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead that evening. 

Tim Schwartz, spokesman for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, said Limas was taken into custody for questioning after the shooting and was later booked into jail on suspicion of criminally negligent homicide, a felony. 

Limas was released Sunday on $30,000 bond, and the Weld District Attorney’s Office will determine whether to pursue the charge. Schwartz said while Limas said he stole the .22-caliber, semi-automatic handgun, it has not been reported stolen.

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