What Have I Done?

It was two nights before Christmas when a 17-year-old invited three friends to his house to hang out. The friends arrived. The teen showed his friends his new pistol. He said he convinced his mother to buy it for him. Police officers later learned the weapon was his mother’s, and she kept it stored legally.

One boy went to the bathroom. While in there, he heard two-gun shots and called in an emergency. He stayed in the bathroom, too frightened to see what had happened.

Officers responded within minutes of the call. When officers arrived, they found the boy who’d invited his friends to his home outside, sitting on the curb in front of the residence, visibly upset. He told the officers there were two people inside believed to be deceased. The boy who'd called in the shooting told the police he heard the friend walk by the bathroom crying and saying to himself, “What have I done?”

Paramedics raced the two injured boys, both shot in the head and clinging to life, to a hospital. Officers took the two other teenagers to the police department for questioning. The one boy admitted shooting both boys in the head and said he’d thought about and wanted to commit homicide for a long time. He intended to shoot all three friends.

One victim didn’t survive. As the state prepared for trial, the boy agreed to plead guilty to murder and assault. He had said all along that he understood what he’d done and should be held accountable. Per the agreement, he’ll serve 50 years in prison for the murder and 20 years for the assault, to be served concurrently.

Many questioned whether they would charge his mother with a crime because the weapon belonged to her. Per state law, the “making a firearm accessible to a child” statute defined a child as anyone under 17. She also avoided civil lawsuits because a federal statute protected gun owners from civil liability if they secured their guns, which she had done.

Source: State of Texas Complaint/Probable Cause Affidavit, ABC News, Law & Crime, The Daily News, NBC 2 Houston, Fox 26 Houston,

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.