Eleven-year-old boy is in custody for murder after fatally shooting eight-year-old neighbor in chest using his father’s shotgun, Tennessee sheriff said

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

An 11-year-old eastern Tennessee boy was in custody for murder on Monday for shooting and killing an eight-year-old neighbour girl with a shotgun because she would not show him her puppies, authorities said.

The unidentified boy was talking to three girls who were outside the window of his mobile home on Saturday evening and asked one of them if he could see her two new puppies, but the girl refused, according to Jefferson County sheriff GW “Bud” McCoig.

The boy retrieved his father’s 12-gauge shotgun, shot the girl in the chest from the window, and then threw the weapon outside by the girl’s body, McCoig said.

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The girl has been identified as Maykayla Dyer, a third-grader at White Pine elementary school. The boy was in fifth grade at the same school, where counselors were on hand Monday to help the other children deal with the news, McCoig said.

“It is a sad, sad situation,” said McCoig. “We hope this don’t ever happen again.”

McCoig said the girl was unresponsive at the scene, and was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. The boy, who was unidentified, was taken into custody at his home.

The shooting happened in a trailer park in White Pine, a town of about 2,200 people about 42 miles (68 km) east of Knoxville.