Teen accidentally shoots 13-year-old sister during birthday celebration

A Florida teen was charged with aggravated manslaughter after he shot his 13-year-old sister, though his family maintains that the shooting was an accident.

Martaevious Santiago was celebrating his seventeenth birthday on Tuesday when his half-sister, Tedra King, gave him a hug. She walked away to leave the room, at which point Santiago raised a loaded semi-automatic handgun at her and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck King in the back of the head and killed her.

According to the Miami Herald, Santiago called 911, but King was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I know from the bottom of my heart that he loved his sister and that he would never do anything to his sister intentionally,” King’s father Tedrick told CBS Miami. “As far as him being charged with her death, I don’t agree with it because he’s been punished enough by the fact that he knows what he did.”

Tedrick added that he would be praying for his son, who would forever have to live with his mistake.

“Every time his birthday comes around, he’ll never enjoy his birthday again,” he said.

According to police, Santiago got the gun from a 14-year-old friend, who was arrested on an outstanding warrant.