Police said a 14-year-old boy first claimed the death was a suicide.
ALLIANCE, Ohio — A Stark County mother was charged after police said her 14-year-old son accidentally shot and killed 15-year-old Kennedy Wise last Friday afternoon inside a home on West Summit Street in Alliance.
Erin Barker appeared Monday in Alliance Municipal Court by video from the Stark County jail. She is charged with tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. Her son appeared the same day in juvenile court in Canton, where he faces 12 counts, including involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and evidence tampering.
Police said the boy took Barker’s Glock 19 to a friend’s home on West Summit Street. Investigators said he was in the kitchen playing with the gun and thought it was unloaded when it fired, striking Wise in the face. Wise died at the scene. Police said the boy later took the gun home, then returned with his mother after telling her the shooting was a suicide.
Alliance Municipal Court Judge Andrew Zumbar said in court that the gun had been removed from the scene and then returned. “You failed to tell officers on the scene that you had done so,” Zumbar said while addressing Barker. Barker asked the court for mercy, saying she had never been in trouble and called the case “a very tragic thing.”
Alliance Police Sgt. Michael Jones said investigators believe the boy and his mother placed the gun near Wise’s feet to make the death appear self-inflicted. Detectives later interviewed witnesses, and police said the boy confessed to the accidental shooting. Jones said officers also believe this was not the first time the boy had access to his mother’s gun.
The boy was not allowed to return home after Monday’s juvenile court hearing. The court found that he was a threat to himself and the public and lacked adequate parental supervision. Police said he had no criminal history with the juvenile court before the shooting.
Barker’s bond was set at $25,000. She is expected back in court Friday morning for a preliminary hearing. Her son is scheduled to return to juvenile court June 30 as prosecutors continue the case tied to Wise’s death.
Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.