MIAMI GARDENS, Florida. — A 13-year-old boy who died over the weekend after a gun was fired inside a Miami Gardens home has been identified as George Harris Jr. by family members.
Tributes were posted on social media this weekend to honor the life of the young teenager who played soccer in Liberty City.
Harris was believed to have been playing video games with several other teenagers in a bedroom of a home on Northwest 207th Street near 38th Avenue in Miami Gardens on Saturday evening.
“Right now it looks like kids are playing with a gun,” said Miami Gardens Police Sergeant Emmanuel Jeanty.
Police rushed to the home around 7:40 p.m. Saturday and found Harris with a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Paramedics took the teenager to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood in critical condition, but he later died.
“Many people have guns these days and it's up to us to make sure that if we have guns in our home, we keep them locked up and make sure they stay out of the reach of children,” Jeanty said.
Harris died several hours after arriving at the hospital.
“I can tell you that police provide gun locks and we provide family members and homeowners with different types of kits to keep these firearms away from children because the safety of our children is our top priority,” Jeanty said.
Investigators detained several people for questioning, but it is unclear whether anyone will face charges.
Meanwhile, Harris' mother posted a flyer on social media asking the community to honor her son during a vigil planned for this Wednesday.
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