Florida boy, 10, shot after dad agreed to take him on paintball ‘drive-by’
A 10-year-old Miami boy was shot after his father took him on a faux drive-by shooting with a paintball gun — and a frightened homeowner returned fire with real bullets, according to authorities.
Michael Williams, 26, allegedly gave in to his son’s pleas late Sunday to take him on a paintball “drive-by shooting,” where police said the boy fired off the unlethal rounds into a crowd gathered in the front yard of an Opa-locka home, the Miami Herald reported.
But the homeowner, identified as Gregory Barns, thought the gunfire was real and that “he and his family were under attack” — leading him to return fire with a real round, striking the boy, police said.
The youngster, who was not publicly identified, was then run over by his father’s van after being shot and losing his balance, police said.
The boy was hospitalized after the shooting, but was expected to recover as of Monday afternoon, WSVN reported.
Williams told the station that a group of neighborhood kids were running around and shooting paintballs at each other.
Another child said the group ended up in front of the home where Williams’ son was shot.
“I guess the man didn’t see what type of gun it was, he just shot him,” the child told WSVN.
Neighbors, meanwhile, told WSVN that they saw the duo driving around with ski masks on.
“The guy riding around with kids in the car with their ski masks and hoodies on, and they were apparently shooting at people,” resident Maurice Adams said.
“We never had this as kids, never. We played baseball with tennis balls in the street. We never had to worry about anything like this. This is crazy.”
Michael Williams
Williams has been charged with child neglect with great bodily harm for acting “recklessly by agreeing to conduct a drive-by paintball shooting,” according to a police report obtained by the Miami Herald.
It’s unclear if Williams had hired an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Details about his case had yet to be posted online Tuesday and he was no longer listed as in custody at a Miami-Dade County jail, the paper reported.
1 comment:
Should be charged with felony stupidity.
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