A 12-year-old boy was shot dead with a laser-sighted pistol by his 13-year-old friend moments after his pal made a joke about his mum, police have said.
Kain Heiland was out with two of his friends on Saturday, April 1, in the evening at Red Lion, a town in York County, Pennsylvania.
At around 8.30pm local time (1.30am BST), one of the boys, who had a gun with him, reportedly told an insulting joke about Kain's mother.
In anger, Kain told him to "shut up" and the other lad, who is 13-years-old, responded by pointing the laser-sighted firearm at him and pulling the trigger, authorities said.
Kain was hit at close range in his upper back and fell.
The boys then checked Kain's body, saw that he was not moving, and went back to their homes. The third child that was with them told his mother about the incident, and she alerted the police. Kain died from his injuries, according to court documents.
The witness told his mum what had happened.
Pennsylvania State Police said they were called on Saturday night to reports of a child laying on the ground between two homes.
The police have not made any arrests in the case, but they have collected photographs, DNA samples, and clothing as part of their ongoing investigation.
The York County Coroner's Office ruled Kain's death a homicide, meaning that he died at the hands of another, but it does not necessarily indicate whether a crime occurred.
The police found a .380-caliber shell casing near the victim's body, and the father of the 13-year-old shooter owns a .380-caliber gun.
Police say the witness told them the three lads had walked to the suspected shooter's home, and the suspect returned with a gun.
Court documents state the suspect made a joke about Kain's mum, was told to "shut up" and then raised the pistol and fired at close range into his upper back.
A witness also showed troopers a photo of the 13-year-old pointing a gun with a red laser at Kain's face, and the clothing Kain is wearing in the photo matches those he was found in after the shooting.
The police seized a .380-caliber weapon, magazines, bullets, clothing, as well as DNA from the 13-year-old suspected shooter during a search warrant at his home.
The court documents also noted that the 13-year-old was wearing different clothing during his interview with the police than he was wearing at the time of the shooting.
“In my experience with prior criminal investigations involving shootings, suspects will change clothing in an attempt to hide evidence,” state police wrote in the search warrant.
Officers found the suspect and interviewed his father. They said the father told them he had a .380 Kel-Tec pistol in a hidden gun safe at the house.
Authorities said the father also told them his son contacted him after the shooting, and asked for him to come home.
Then, when the suspect's father arrived, the pistol was secured in the safe.
