A teenager shot his grandmother, 12-year-old sister and 6-year-old nephew after being told to get out of bed, police in Tennessee said Tuesday.
The 16-year-old boy fired multiple shots inside an east Nashville apartment but nobody suffered life-threatening injuries, police said in a news release.
His grandmother, Earline Hill, 67, and mother, Sheryl Williams, 42, told officers that the teen got angry after they told him to get out of bed and get ready for school early Tuesday.
“He made threatening statements before retrieving a handgun from a closet,” the Metro Nashville Police Department release said. “His grandmother was struck at least twice; his nephew and sister suffered graze wounds. His mother was not injured. The teen’s 2-year-old sister was also present but not injured.”
The boy fled on foot, dropping the gun off at a nearby apartment, but was captured a short time later.
The family was unaware that the 16-year-old, who attends Johnson Alternative Learning Center, had a gun in the home, police said.
He has so far refused to talk to detectives, but has been charged in a juvenile court with four counts of attempted homicide and one count of reckless endangerment.
The suspect’s uncle, Joseph Williams, told NBC station WSMV that his nephew could sometimes get angry, but in the same way as any other teenager.
“It was mostly talking back,” he told the station. “You get a little older … your britches get too big for you. But you’ve got to realize you’re in someone else’s house.”
