A 14-year-old girl accidentally shot her 12-year-old cousin and then also accidentally killed herself in a tragic event broadcast live on Instagram.
Paris Harvey was playing with her cousin, Kuaron Harvey, in the bathroom of an apartment the family rented when the events unfolded last Friday in the town of Saint Louis, Missouri.
Although the police initially suspected a murder and suicide, everything points to an accident.
Harvey’s grandmother, Susan Dyson, told local press she saw the video the youths took on Instagram and says it was an accident.
“They didn’t fight or anything,” the woman said.
“They played with the gun when they shouldn’t. Of course they shouldn’t. I think the gun just went off, it went off accidentally,” he added.
The family explained that the two grew up together and used to make videos. “They were more than cousins,” they said.
Paris and Kuaron were alone in the bathroom shooting the video in front of the mirror when the unfortunate event happened. As Kuaron was shot, Paris attempted to take the gun and accidentally detonated himself again. Both young men were shot in the head.
“It wasn’t murder and it wasn’t suicide,” said Shinise Harvey, Paris’ mother. “It was an accident”.
According to police reports, Kuaron’s mother and Paris’ father are brothers.
So far, the authorities have not shared the results of the investigation into the case.
Police posted a graphic with a photo of white lilies on social media on Saturday with the message: “We send our deepest condolences to the family of Paris Harvey, 12, and Kuaron Harvey, 14, who died on March 25, 2022 tragically passed away”.
The victims’ family described Paris, a seventh grader, as a funny girl who loved to comb her hair, do her nails and had a beautiful voice.
In an incident report, authorities said the bodies of the boys were discovered unconscious and gasping for air at 2:07 a.m. Friday after officers received a call about a shooting. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
The children’s family created two fundraisers on the GoFundMe platform to help with funeral expenses: one on behalf of Paris and the other on behalf of Kuaron.
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