Father pleads guilty to 2nd-degree manslaughter in 10-year-old son's death
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis father has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of his 10-year-old son earlier this year.
Brandon Mayberry pleaded guilty Tuesday in the April 15 incident.
The charges stated that he left a gun accessible to his 10- and 12-year-old children, and the latter accidentally shot the former.
Sentencing has been set for Dec. 20 at 9 a.m.
Case History
Court documents detail that officers were dispatched at 11:35 p.m. to a reported shooting at a downtown apartment building on the 300 block of Hennepin Avenue. When they arrived, officers found a 10-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim died later at the hospital.
According to the complaint, a 12-year-old boy was with the victim alone in the apartment after Mayberry left for work. At some point, they found the gun under a pillow in Mayberry's bedroom. The boy said he was handling it when he fumbled with it and pulled the trigger by accident. That's when the gun went off, striking the victim in the chest.
Police say they found eight guns inside the apartment, which belongs to Mayberry. Several of the guns, including the gun that was fired, were loaded. Ammo was also found unsecured in the apartment.
In the hours following the shooting, Minneapolis police spokesman Garrett Parten called the death of a child "especially impactful," including to those who responded to the scene and attempted saving the child's life.
