Bronx family mourning after police say teen was killed while handling gun with friend
A Bronx family is grieving after police say a teenager was accidentally shot and killed while he and a friend were handling a gun.
Police say just after 5 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a 911 call reporting a person shot inside an apartment on Prospect Avenue in Crotona Park.
Investigators say John Nunez, 16, and a friend were handling a gun when it accidentally discharged. When officers arrived at the apartment, they found Nunez with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Some, including Nunez's family, are not convinced the shooting was an accident, and they are hoping the investigation answers the questions they have.
"We still don't know, whose gun was it?" said Sol Nunez, John Nunez's older sister. "They say it was an accident, but who knows?"
The Nunez family is hoping this tragedy reminds others how dangerous loaded firearms can be.
"Guns are not for kids, first of all. Are not for people that have a good heart, like John did," Sol Nunez said.
Flowers and candles sat outside the Nunez's home in Longwood on Thursday night as loved ones remembered him.
"My family is very devastated. It's very hard on them because John was our youngest," Sol Nunez said.
She said her younger brother lit up a room with his smile, wanted to go into the Army and have a family.
"He loved being with his friends. He loved being with his family. He loved kids," she said.
"He was like really a brother to me," friend Ethan Velazquez said. "It hurts to see somebody like that gone."
Friends and family are hoping to keep John Nunez's memory alive by remembering the determination he had for life.
"He always knew what he wanted to do," Velazquez said. "I respect him for that and appreciate him for that. That's my brother. I'm going to live that on for him."
John Nunez was the first of two teenagers killed by gun violence in the Bronx this week.
Wednesday night, 15-year-old Riley Billingslea was found shot in the head in a Bronx apartment. A 13-year-old boy was also grazed by a bullet. Police believe the shooting stemmed from an argument. Sources said investigators were searching for a person of interest Thursday.
