Police are investigating the case as a murder-suicide after finding two children shot to death in an apartment in St. Louis, Missouri.
However, the family say it was an accidental shooting that took the lives of a 12-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy. And it was all caught on Instagram Live.
The shooting, which happened just after 2 a.m. at an apartment complex near 10th and Spruce streets, is being investigated as a murder-suicide.
12-year-old Paris Harvey had permission from her mother, Shinise Harvey, to attend a family party a the apartment to celebrate March birthdays.
“Everybody was getting together to celebrate, and so the younger kids, they got a bed and breakfast,” Shinise Harvey told KMOV. “They were making a video and she was playing with the gun, but it went off and hit him. She dropped the gun, and it fell, and it went off to my knowledge, and then when she picked it up, she picked it up by the barrel and it went off and that’s all I know… It was not a suicide. It was just a freak accident.”
Police say the boy was shot first, and the little girl was shot with the same gun.
The boy was identified as 14-year-old Kuaron Harvey. His mother did not attend the party.
Shinise Harvey said her nephew was also her godson, and she didn’t know who the gun belonged to or how her daughter found it.
“With all that family there, they should have basically made sure she was OK,” Shinise Harvey said. “Everybody should have stuck with somebody. We’ve got to look out for each other. We’re a family. And they’re young.”
Paris and Kuaron were alone in a bathroom making a video in the mirror before the shooting happened. Family members said that after Kuaron was shot, the video showed Paris reaching for the gun and it may have accidentally gone off again. They said they believed the gun was Kuaron’s. Both children were shot in the head.
Family members said the cousins had been raised close together. Kuaron’s mother and Paris’ father are siblings.
Police are still investigating who owned the gun, and whether anyone can be charged for the shooting.
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