Brayden Leroy Wright, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania boy held without bail and to be tried as an adult for shooting dead his 9 year old brother with father’s gun in game gone wrong.
A 13-year-old Pennsylvania boy is to be tried as an adult after shooting his nine-year-old brother in the head, killing him in a game of cops and robbers gone wrong.
Brayden Leroy Wright of Waynesboro was denied bail after being charged with first-degree criminal homicide and second-degree aggravated assault.
Brayden and his brother were playing together at around 6am on Wednesday morning when the ‘shooting’ incident occurred reported the Patriot News.
During questioning, the teen told investigators that he went to fetch one of two loaded 9mm handguns that his dad kept in the living room couch to use during the game.
Brayden said that he became angry when his brother ‘was not complying with his commands’ in the game. Define comply? Or else…?
Older brother admits knowing there was a bullet in chamber
The boy told police how he then put the gun to the back of his brother’s head as he lay on the couch watching YouTube videos and pulled the trigger.
Of note, Brayden admitted knowing that there was a round in the chamber of the pistol.
Brayden ‘further related he pressed the muzzle of the gun to the back left side of the victim’s head and squeezed the trigger. (He) related he did this because the victim was not complying with his commands while playing cops and robbers. He admitted to being angry with the victim for not listening to him,’ he said during a police interview
The sibling was fatally wounded. The bullet passed straight through the nine-year-old boy’s skull.
Mark Snyder, the boys’ father, explained the presence of unsecured and loaded guns in the house as being ‘for home protection.’ It remained unclear why the father hadn’t taken precautions to properly secure the weapons and whether the faced potential charges?
After shooting his brother, Brayden put the gun back in the couch and called 911 to report a fall, according to the affidavit.
By the time paramedics arrived at the home, the boy was bleeding severely and in cardiac arrest. He died later at Waynesboro Hospital as a result of his injuries.
Boys guardians not facing charges
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family with their legal fees and funeral expenses along with counseling for the other children in the family including the boys’ three sisters.
‘Yesterday forever changed all our lives. We not only lost a 9yr old precious little boy, but we could potentially lose his 13yr old brother,’ the post states.
The boys’ guardians were not facing any charges as of Sunday.
Social media commentators wondered whether the shooting was accidental or motivated by sibling rivalry, and what would have been if the father had kept the weapons locked away.
Brayden is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning for a preliminary hearing.
