The Cincinnati father who accidentally shot and killed his teenage son after mistaking him for an intruder Tuesday will not face criminal charges, the prosecutor’s office said.
"There is only one word for this — tragedy," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters said in a statement Wednesday. "It is impossible to imagine how horrible this father must feel for mistaking his son for an intruder. All of the forensic evidence matches what the father told the police, and, therefore, no charges are appropriate."
Georta Mack, 14, was shot in the neck in the basement of his home at around 6:30 a.m., after the boy told his father he was on his way to school but returned home instead.
The teen’s father, who has not been officially identified, heard a noise in the basement and armed himself with a .45-caliber revolver, thinking an intruder was in the home, prosecutors said, and was surprised by his son and the weapon discharged and killed Georta.
"When dad was in the basement, he opened a closet door. Georta was in the closet and yelled 'Boo.' The father said that he was startled when he fired a single shot," Deter’s office said in the statement.
The boy’s father told police he texted his son after he left to make sure he was on the way to school, and the teen called him back and said he was on the bus, the prosecutor’s office said.
The teen’s father, 72, called 911 after the shooting and Georta was taken to Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
