Teen arrested in shooting death of 12-year-old in St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Police on Sunday announced the arrest of a 14-year-old in the shooting death of a 12-year-old in St. Paul, Minnesota.

St. Paul police said the 14-year-old is being held at a juvenile detention center on a charge of manslaughter. Police have not identified him.

Police said the victim was taken to a local hospital, where he died. The family identified the 12-year-old as Markee Jones, KSTP-TV reported.

Martez Hill told the station that his nephew, Jones, was shot during a birthday celebration. He said about 14 kids were having a sleepover. They were playing with a gun when it went off, Hill said.

“This should’ve never happened,” he told KSTP-TV.

“I hope this brings a lot of attention to people who have firearms to make sure you keep your gun safely locked away,” Jones’ aunt Lakrisha Hill said. “Kids are curious, and now I have a nephew to bury because of somebody else’s mistake.”