UPDATED: A fifteen-year-old girl told police she thought a 9mm handgun was not loaded when she pointed it at Gary Gordon, pulled the trigger, and shot him, a MPD detective said today at the girl’s detention hearing.

D.C. Superior Court rules prohibit Homicide Watch from identifying the teen involved because she is a juvenile.

“She said she removed the magazine and was playing with the gun,” the testifying detective, Officer John Bevilacqua, said. “She pointed it at the decedent, pulled the trigger, and shot him.”



Bevilacqua said the teen told investigators that she “didn’t think [the gun] was loaded.”

A witness told police the teen shouted, “I shot Gordon,” after firing the weapon, the teen’s attorney said.

Gordon, an 18-year-old senior at Anacostia High School, was struck by the bullet in his back.

Judge Diana Harris Epps found probable cause in the case on charges that the teen unlawfully killed someone with gross negligence, ruling that even if the teen had no intention of shooting Gordon that playing with the firearm showed gross neglect.

In total, probable cause was found in seven charges: Voluntary Manslaughter while armed, Involuntary Manslaughter, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Carrying a Pistol without a License (misdemeanor), Possession of unregistered Firearm/ Unlawfule Possession of a Firearm or Destructive Device, Possession of ammunition without valid registration (misdemeanor), and Discharging Firearm.

The teen is next due in court March 24.