An 11-year-old Dillon boy who shot his sister in the face has been sentenced to seven months probation as punishment for the incident, 4th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Kernard Redmond said.
Family Court Judge Roger Henderson handed down the sentence Wednesday, about three months after the boy pleaded guilty to the Feb. 12, 2008, shooting of his 9-year-old sister while the two were at home alone.
He originally faced assault and battery with intent to kill charged but pleaded guilty and was sentenced on the lesser offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Prosecutors agreed to the lesser charge because the girl wasn’t actually struck by the bullet, but suffered injuries from gunpowder residue, Redmond said.
Initial law enforcement reports indicated the boy shot his sister because she refused to share a bag of potato chips with him, but that was false, said Dillon attorney Rosalind Sellers, who represented the boy during the case.
The boy was playing with the gun and the shooting was an accident, Sellers said.
Both children ran to their grandparents’ house nearby immediately after the shooting. The girl first was taken to a local hospital and later to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston for the treatment of minor injuries and released soon after.
The boy doesn’t have extensive experience with guns and had learned about firearms at a turkey hunting event just prior to the shooting, Sellers said.
The boy has completed a community mental evaluation through the state Department of Juvenile Justice and is in the custody of his parents, Redmond said.
In addition to probation, the boy will have to under go counseling if there is a need, Redmond said.
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