A California mother says her 10-year-old son was shot and killed by another 10-year-old after losing a bicycle race in their neighbourhood.
Brittani Frierson, mother of Keith “KJ” Frierson, said the youngster wanted to ride a bike he got for Christmas and decided to race it against other kids in their Foothill Farms neighbourhood, about 16 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Ms Frierson told NBC News her son begged to get the bike as a Christmas present. She explained that she gave him permission to ride it with the other kids and roughly 15 minutes later, she said he had been shot.
Neighbours rushed to her apartment and began banging on the door, saying that something had happened to her son, the outlet reported.
“I screamed for hours after I saw my child on that ground,” she told NBC News. “Because I could just see that he had no chance. I just knew that my child was gone.”
The 10-year-old suspect, who has not been identified due to his age, allegedly angrily opened fire after he lost the competition. The woman said she was basing the details on what another neighbourhood child, who witnessed the incident, told her.
She said that the child and the shooting suspect were friends who often played together.
The child has been charged with murder, while his father, 53-year-old Arkete Davis has been charged with suspicion of possession of a firearm by a felon, criminal storage of a firearm, carrying a stolen loaded firearm in a vehicle, child endangerment and acting as an accessory to a crime after the fact.
It’s believed that the child allegedly obtained the loaded firearm from his father’s vehicle while being sent to retrieve cigarettes for the parent. Officials previously claimed that the gun had been stolen and that the man tried to hide it in a nearby trash can following the shooting before running into a nearby apartment.
Mr Davis’ bond has been set at $500,000 and his first court date was scheduled for Wednesday. He’s currently being held at Sacramento County Main Jail.
Ms Frierson described her son as generous, smart, friendly, inquisitive and helpful. Adding that he would always help the older women in the area with their groceries.
A vigil held for her son on Monday night was attended by his Sacramento Youth Football team Jr. Football Mustangs coach and teammates who said that the child would “truly be missed.”
“We lost a fellow Jr Mustang Saturday evening to the hands of gun violence,” the team wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Coaches and staff are speechless right now. We pray for strength for his mother and brother.”
A GoFundMe launched to raise funds for the child’s funeral expenses has so far reached nearly $12,000 out of a $20,000 goal.
