WILMINGTON, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old boy was accidentally fatally shot by his 17-year-old cousin at a house attached to a church in Wilmington.
The Will County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that the teens were in a bedroom in a residence connected to the Christian Faith Center late Tuesday when they thought they heard someone trying to break into the church. The sheriff’s office says the older boy had a rifle retrieved from a closet when he tripped and fell.
Officials say the rifle accidentally discharged, striking the younger boy who died at a Kankakee hospital early Wednesday. Sheriff’s officials say detectives questioned the 17-year-old boy, who wasn’t charged. Authorities say the pastor legally owned the rifle.
Sheriff Mike Kelley called it a “tragic accident.”
Wilmington is southwest of Chicago. The boys’ identities weren’t released.
