A 23-year-old Massachusetts man faces several charges stemming from an incident on Saturday while he was “playing” with gun he didn’t know was loaded and “accidentally” shot a 15-year-old girl.
Michael Tate was arrested after police rushed to the residence where the shooting took place. Lynn police say their investigation thus far indicates an accident.
Lynn police Lieutenant Michael Kmiec said the teen was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with life-threatening injuries but was expected to survive, the Boston Globe reported.
Neighbors told CBS Boston Tate is a friend of the family, known on the street as “polite, always saying hi.”
“Hopefully it was an accident,” one neighbor said. “I believe it was an accident.”
Another neighbor, Victoria Martin, told the station the incident “killed” her daughter’s 3rd birthday party.
“I’ve lived here for 16 years and this is the first time something like this has ever happened in this yard, so it was kinda tough,” she said. “They put the yellow tape, which kind of killed my daughter’s birthday, because then no one was allowed to come in the yard or leave.”
Tate is set to be arraigned on Monday on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, unlawful possession of ammunition, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, the Globe said.
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