Heartbreaking. An 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot to death by his 13-year-old brother at their home while handling a gun he found in their parents’ bedroom.
According to the Miami-Dade Police on Friday, the victim, identified as Shemarion Burse, had been inside an apartment at the Horizons West complex with his four siblings on Thursday afternoon. No adults were home at the time – including their Miami-Dade Corrections officer mom Tiffany Callaway. Investigators said the little boy’s 13-year-old brother removed a gun from a firearm case in the master bedroom closet. When he was messing around with the weapon, it suddenly went off and hit Shemarion in the chest.
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Speaking with 7News, a next-door neighbor recalled hearing the children desperately screaming for “help” and quickly rushed to the home to find a nightmare. She said:
“I heard a noise, and then I heard kids screaming, ‘Help.’ I called 911. I went inside the house. The baby was there, blood everywhere.”
The neighbor then began to try to resuscitate Shemarion:
“I proceeded to do CPR, mouth-to-mouth, until he stopped breathing, and that’s when I just stopped.”
The young child was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center, where he was ultimately pronounced dead. The woman added in an interview with CBS News about how the situation has since left her shocked and traumatized:
“I just apologized to the person that was over him. I knew he was a sibling also. I just walked out of the house and started to break down myself. Him just laying there and taking his last breath was traumatic. They were scared. I can’t even describe the feeling. It’s unimaginable.”
Another neighbor Geraldine Ostanne also told the outlet:
“I am heartbroken about the whole situation. I just don’t like to hear about these stories of guns in homes. I think it must be very hard for the family who are devastated about the whole situation. Even though the gun was in a safe place, I feel they shouldn’t be around children at all. They shouldn’t even know where guns are.”
Police are currently investigating the incident, but they do not expect to file any charges at this time. Shemarion’s mother Tiffany has created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses. Calling her son “the light of our life,” she wrote:
“Though none of you may have known him, I can tell you he was an amazing young boy. Loving, playful and always there to put a smile on your face when you needed. Imaging life without him is something we never thought we’d have to do as a family, and even worse, we have to lay him to rest.”
This is such a terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to this family as they navigate this difficult loss.
[Image via GoFundMe, NBC 6 South Florida/YouTube]
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