An Ocoee Police Department officer assesses evidence on the ground outside the Florida home of Sandra Pape King, 55, who was allegedly shot by her 11-year-old nephew (screengrab via WESH).
An 11-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with shooting his 55-year-old aunt in their Florida home, a tragedy that the boy’s family members believe he may not even fully be aware of taking part in.
The shooting took place at a residence on Idaho Court in Ocoee around 7:50 a.m. on May 17, according to a statement from the Ocoee Police Department.
Officers said they responded to a call about a shooting and when they arrived, they promptly found 55-year-old Sandra Pape King shot inside. She was not yet dead but succumbed to her injuries while being transported to Advent Health Apopka.
The boy was placed into police custody. Florida ABC affiliate WFTV reported that he made his first juvenile court appearance on Saturday. Several family members attended the hearing and one of his cousins told reporters there that their mother had been the 11-year-old’s guardian for at least five years. A judge granted the family’s request that they be able to visit with him while he is being detained.
The cousin told the outlet this weekend: “He doesn’t understand what’s going on. I don’t even think he knows he killed her.”
A neighbor told local NBC affiliate WESH that he thought the boy had an average temperament for someone his age.
“He seemed like any other child, you know. You see, he had a little tantrum here and there. I figure that was normal for a kid his age, you know. I have two daughters his age, so I didn’t think nothing of it,” neighbor Jackson Genao said, according to the station.
A neighbor to King reportedly said he only just talked to the woman and her nephew a few days prior. The child seemed “a little thin,” WFTV reported, with the neighbor saying and that he had seen him “kind of caught up” with his aunt in the past.
NBC affiliate WESH reported that neighbors heard screaming before the shooting and found King shot in the driveway. Her purse was just nearby left in the grass.
Several bags of evidence were removed from the home. It is unclear how the child obtained a gun.
Ocoee Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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