ALLENTOWN, Pa. - An 11-year-old boy who police say was fatally shot by his 10-year-old brother suffered a single gunshot wound, the coroner said Friday.
Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio ruled the manner of death a homicide — the killing of a person by another.
- The 11-year-old died Tuesday after being shot in the basement of an Allentown home
- His 10-year-old brother accidentally fired the shot, police said
- A resident of the home legally owned the guns and will not be prosecuted
"Please understand that the ruling of homicide for the purposes of death certification is a 'neutral term' and does not indicate or imply criminal intent; that determination remains within the parameters of the district attorney," Buglio said in a prepared statement.
Police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office have previously described the shooting as an accident and said no one would be prosecuted.
Police said the boys were visiting the home and playing in the basement when they discovered two 9 mm handguns. A 24-year-old man who lived in the home legally owned the firearms, according to the district attorney's office.
Authorities said the owner had the guns out of a lock box in the basement because he was planning to clean them. When he heard the boys arrive upstairs, authorities said, he quickly hid the guns because he expected the boys would come downstairs to play video games.
The gun owner then went upstairs and the boys went to the basement to play, the district attorney's office said. A gunshot rang out a short time later.
Neither the 10-year-old nor the firearms owner will be charged, according to a statement from the district attorney's office. It said the children's names were not being released and the gun owner's name wouldn't be released because he won't be prosecuted.
"While a case can be made that the guns should have been placed into a lock box which was available, the investigation has disclosed that the owners did not want the boys to even see the guns and he made a good faith effort to hurriedly hide them," said the DA's statement.
In issuing a news release Friday, Buglio said he decided not to publicly release the boy's identity.
"I have also decided that out of continued respect to the family, I will not be releasing the name of the young boy, with the hopes that the family can continue their grieving process with privacy," the coroner said.
