SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A 10-year-old boy from Foothill Farms, an unincorporated Sacramento suburb, has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing another child with his father’s gun, according to authorities. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon, prompting a response from Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies.
The deputies arrived at the scene to find 10-year-old Keith Frierson bleeding from the head and neck in a parking lot. Despite attempts to save his life, he was later pronounced dead at a hospital, as reported by the Sheriff’s Office on social media. Frierson had left his apartment shortly before the shooting to ride his bicycle, according to a relative interviewed by KCRA-TV.
An official statement from the Sheriff’s Office revealed that another 10-year-old boy had discovered a loaded gun in his father’s truck while retrieving cigarettes. The boy took the gun and proceeded to boast about his father having a firearm before shooting the victim once and fleeing into a nearby apartment.
As a result of the tragic incident, the 10-year-old suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of murder, while his father was also arrested for various offenses, including carrying a stolen, loaded firearm in a vehicle, child endangerment, and being an accessory to a crime. The gun, reported stolen in 2017, was found by deputies in a nearby trash can, and the father, an ex-felon prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, remained in custody on a $500,000 bail.
The investigation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen whether the man has legal representation. The tragic event has shaken the community, and authorities continue to work diligently to understand the circumstances surrounding this devastating incident.