Police in South Florida are investigating the accidental shootings of two teenage girls in separate incidents within the past week.
A 17-year-old girl was fatally shot by a friend in an apartment in Miami-Dade County on Monday night, according to a police report. On May 12, a 17-year-old boy told police he accidentally shot a 15-year-old girl while handling a gun in a Miami home.
Police officials from Miami and Miami-Dade County and school superintendent Alberto Carvalho addressed the shootings during a news conference on Thursday.
"This is a tragedy that should not happen and cannot happen again," Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said. "Please be mindful of weapons in your house, the fact that the kids are home, they're being schooled at home, they don't have a lot of extra activities to be doing, they become curious and these are the things that can happen."
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In the Monday night shooting, a police report said four people, including two juveniles, were detained. All four told police the shooting was accidental. A 17-year-old is charged with manslaughter with a deadly weapon.
Police found the girl dead on the floor when they arrived at the home in Allapattah with a gunshot to the head, a police report said. Clearly visible to officers was a black handgun and a magazine that was on a desk.
The report didn't provide the girl's full name.
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In the earlier case, police said a 17-year-old told officers he was playing with a gun when he put his finger on the trigger, accidentally fired and killed Arya Gray. The Miami Herald reported that Gray was killed in front of her sister.
The teen is also charged with manslaughter with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors said a decision hasn't been made on whether he will be tried as an adult.
"In the middle of this pandemic crisis there is an ongoing crisis that continues to unfold itself in our community, one that is robbing the innocence of our Miami-Dade one child at a time," Carvalho said. "What's most reprehensible about this is that all of this is preventable."
