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Muskegon Heights boy charged in accidental fatal shooting of sister

police crime scene tape
Tony Webster via Wikimedia | CC BY 3.0
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Wikimedia.org

Authorities say a 16-year-old boy has been charged in the accidental shooting of his 14-year-old sister at their home in West Michigan. The shooting happened Monday afternoon in Muskegon Heights. A petition charging the boy with open murder was filed Tuesday in Muskegon County Juvenile Court, but he could end up facing lesser charges. 

Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat tells The Muskegon Chronicle that it hasn't yet been determined whether it will seek to charge the boy as an adult. Police say the boy was playing with a handgun when it discharged, shooting his sister in the back. The Associated Press isn't naming the girl to avoid identifying her brother. Muskegon Heights Police Chief Joseph Thomas says the boy confessed to being involved in the shooting.