According to WALB-TV, a 13-year-old boy and a 49-year-old woman, Knisha Ann Perkins, were arrested on July 15 after Kylen Powell, an 8-year-old, was discovered dead.
According to the outlet, the teen, who has not been identified due to his age, allegedly shot and killed Kylen around 11 p.m. local time on July 11 at their grandmother Perkins’ home in Bainbridge, Ga. WALB-TV stated that the two boys were cousins.
The boys were staying at their grandmother’s house when the 13-year-old allegedly shot the 8-year-old in the face with a 9mm handgun, according to WALB-TV. It’s unclear how the teenager obtained the firearm.
When a deputy from the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, he discovered the 8-year-old lying on the living room floor and “determined that he was beyond life-saving measures,” according to WALB-TV, citing the sheriff’s initial incident report.
The deputy also stated in the report that officers were “unable to locate the firearm because it was not near the scene of the deceased.”
Following the incident, deputy Decatur County Coroner DeWitt Phillip told WALB-TV that families should “secure” their “firearms,” especially when children are present.
“Kids get hold of them, and they don’t think,” Phillip said. “They watch television, and everyone gets up. We need people to secure them so that these children do not die. Don’t leave them out where children can play with them; they simply don’t understand.”
“I have worked so many of these, and it’s not easy and it never gets easier for us,” Phillip told me. “The families have to live with it, but the coroners do too.”
The teen was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault, while Perkins was charged with three counts of second-degree cruelty to children and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the outlet.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Decatur County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), and Decatur County Coroner did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for information about the incident.
