Teen faces illegal gun charge after brother, 12, is wounded

They allegedly were playing with a revolver. Then the 16-year-old left the room.

EVERETT — Two Everett brothers were briefly home alone last week when they decided to smoke marijuana and play with a revolver, according to new court records.

Their mother had stepped out to the store. She didn’t know the older brother, 16, had a gun, she later told police.

The younger brother, 12, accidentally shot himself in his right side, near his rib cage. The bullet went through a lung. He is expected to survive.

On Friday, the older brother was charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

Dispatchers told police the boy was “hysterical” when he called 911. He was too upset to talk, so he and his wounded brother walked out to W. Casino Road to flag down help. That was just after 5 p.m. June 5.

The boy said that he and his brother had been practicing loading and unloading the gun. He said his brother was pointing it in random directions, pretending to shoot, records show. He said he was in the bathroom when his brother shot himself.

The boy told police he had been keeping the gun for a friend for about a week. Police recovered the weapon, a silver .38-caliber Smith & Wesson Special.

The boy’s family recently moved to Snohomish County to get him away from gangs, records show. He said he had not been involved in gang activity in Everett.

He was arrested shortly after the shooting while visiting his brother at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. At the time, he had a warrant from another county in connection with a trespassing case. He also has a felony conviction for stealing a car.

He appeared June 6 in the juvenile division of Snohomish County Superior Court, accompanied by his parents. He was released on orders that he not possess weapons and not be out after 8 p.m. The judge also provided a referral for counseling.

The younger brother on Monday was no longer listed as a patient at Harborview. No additional information was available about his condition.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rikkiking.

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