It wasn’t an accident when a 13-year-old killed his younger friend with a crossbow, police say
Sitting on a vacant lot in Lincoln County, Okla. — just northeast of Oklahoma City — is a tree house where local kids get together from all over to play.
On Saturday evening, there were only three kids at the tree house, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty: 10-year-old Austin Almanza, his 8-year-old brother, Ayden, and a 13-year-old friend they were playing with.
“All three of these kids are friends,” Dougherty said at a press conference Monday, which was posted on YouTube by The Oklahoman. “That’s where they would go to, this tree house, to play.”
But a disagreement between the three children on Saturday turned that tree house into a crime scene, Dougherty said. The 13-year-old allegedly pulled out his crossbow and shot an arrow that killed Austin and injured Ayden, his little brother.
And the incident was not an accident, according to the sheriff’s office.
“We are investigating as a homicide,” Dougherty said. “There was a disagreement among the three prior to the shooting.”
After the 13-year-old shot a single broadhead arrow from his crossbow, following the disagreement among the boys, it first struck Austin — entering the 10-year-old’s body through the left side of his torso, and then exiting his body through the right side of his back, the sheriff said Monday.
Next, the arrow struck Ayden, piercing the younger boy’s arm. That’s where the arrow was lodged when first responders arrived at the vacant lot around 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office.
It's hard to see in this picture, but this is the treehouse where the 13-year-old shot & killed the 10-year-old with a crossbow pic.twitter.com/Pjws0sHRPH
— Caroline Vandergriff (@c_vandergriff) October 23, 2017
Ayden’s injuries were not life threatening, the sheriff said. The boy was sent to a nearby trauma center for treatment, and has since been released.
Austin, the older brother, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“I talked with Elizabeth, these boys’ mom, earlier this morning,” the sheriff said. “They’re making arrangements for Austin’s funeral.”
Both victims were students at a local elementary school, while the suspect goes to a middle school in the county, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff told reporters Monday that the crossbow had been a gift to the suspect.
“It’s my understanding it belonged to the child,” Dougherty said.
The sheriff’s office has not identified the suspect’s name due to his age, but he is being held at a juvenile detention center in another county, according to the sheriff.
“We’re certainly heartbroken and saddened on behalf of the school community and certainly the family,” Bob Gragg, the superintendent of the boys’ school district, told The Oklahoman. “We’re just a small school, a small community and it hits hard just like it would in any family.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "It wasn’t an accident when a 13-year-old killed his younger friend with a crossbow, police say."