Pittsburgh teen shot dead playing "army" with friend

PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh police say a teenager was fatally shot by his best friend during a game of "army," with what turned out to be a loaded gun, reports CBS Pittsburgh.

Kenneth Lampkin, 16, died Monday at UPMC Mercy Hospital after being shot over the weekend by 17-year-old Joseph Robinson.

The shooting reportedly occurred while the boys were playing "army" on Saturday at Lampkin's home in Pittsburgh's Knoxville neighborhood.

John Parker, of a group called "Stop the Violence," told the station Lampkin and Robinson were best friends.

"Words can't express how this is right now. Two families are torn. Usually, around here, it's a street rivalry. This is not the case this time, best friends playing with guns," Parker said. "I mentored them both. Talked to them every day, on a daily basis about this out here and now this is what it comes to."

A police report says investigators found Lampkin in a second-floor bathroom when they went to the home Saturday evening.

"My heart is crushed into a thousand pieces. I can't even pick them back up and put them together," the victim's mother said, according to the station.

Friends called the incident an accident. Robinson has reportedly said he was unaware the gun was loaded.

Robinson told police he removed two weapons from the home before they arrived, according to the station. Police later recovered the weapons not far from the home.

The 17-year-old was booked on a count of aggravated assault, among other things. He has been charged as an adult.

The charge is expected to be upgraded to homicide, according to CBS Pittsburgh.