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Court has heard the three teens — 13, 16 and 17 at the time — were hanging out with one another one night in July 2011. They came up with a plan to walk to a nearby house and shoot it up.

The oldest teen fired one shot above the home, then passed on the gun to the two other boys and walked away. They each fired two bullets at the house. One passed through the wall above Ethan’s mattress and struck him in the head.

Ethan’s father, his girlfriend and their one-year-old child had all been sleeping in a bed next to Ethan. They woke up to screams and blood.

The teens picked up the shell casings outside, dropped them into a hat and ran off. They broke the rifle into two pieces and hid them outside near some tree stumps.

They were arrested six months later. In November, they pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

A motive for the shooting has not been revealed in court, but Ethan’s family said they’ve heard enough rumours to believe it was a retaliatory attack — for what, they don’t know.

On Wednesday, for the first time in court, the three teens stood up and spoke. They each repeated the same word: “Sorry.”

“I’d like to apologize to the family we’ve hurt,” said one of the boys, nodding towards Ethan’s relatives sitting in the court. “I’d like to say sorry to you guys. Truly, I’m sorry.”

The other two teens mumbled their words. Ethan’s mother, Ashley Yellowbird, said outside court she was disappointed those two turned their backs on everyone in the courtroom as they were speaking.