Parents Charged After 13-Year-Old Shoots, Kills 5-Year-Old Brother In Penn Hills

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The parents of a 5-year-old boy who was shot and killed by his older brother are now facing charges.

Thomas Wolfe and Sara Gerwig have both been charged with endangering the welfare of children.

Police said their 13-year-old son got ahold of the couple's gun at their home in Penn Hills last month and shot his younger brother in the face.

(Photo: KDKA)

Court documents read that the father admitted he left the handgun on top of a gun safe, saying that the gun is always loaded with a live round in the chamber.

The mother says all four children were staying in a first floor bedroom because the second floor of the home had no electricity.

The children moved to the master bedroom where the gun was located, when the electricity stopped working on the second floor.

Police found multiple safes and trigger locks in the home, none of them being used.

The 13-year-old sibling has been charged with homicide.

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