15-year-old boy shot and killed by another boy: Pittsburg police

PITTSBURG, Calif. - Pittsburg police said a 15-year-old boy died after he was shot by a boy of the same age on Thursday afternoon.

The deadly shooting happened around 3:04 p.m. at a home in the 4000 block of Suzanne Drive, officers said. Several neighbors called 9-1-1 saying someone had been shot. 

When officers arrived they found the boy, and rendered first aid until paramedics arrived. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive.

Witnesses were interviewed and investigators determined a 15-year-old boy was responsible for the shooting. He was arrested and booked on involuntary manslaughter, according to authorities.

Authorities do not know yet whether it was an intentional act, but involuntary manslaughter is defined as an unintentional killing that could have resulted from criminal negligence or recklessness. 

"That was just really a tragic loss here in the city," said Pittsburg Mayor Shanelle Scales-Preston. "I have two boys of my own, 13 and 15, and my heart and prayers and thoughts go out to the family - go out to both families."

She said police recently recovered more than 200 guns as a result of a buyback and a second campaign.

"We are trying our best to make sure these guns are out of our community and keeping our youths safe," the mayor said. "But we can always continue to do more."

Griffin Dix of Kensington is a gun-safety advocate. His 15-year-old son Kenzo was shot and killed in Berkeley in 1994 by a friend who thought the gun was unloaded.

"This kind of tragedy happens far too often," Dix said. "You can't really rely on a boy not to touch a gun by just telling him, ‘Oh, don't touch it,' " Dix said. "Kids do things they shouldn't do."

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Anyone who has information related to this incident to contact Detective Gutierrez at 925-252-4095.