His mom says Malachi Hemphill was apparently only trying to put a clip in a gun she didn't even know he had. Instead, the 13-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head Monday as 10 to 15 friends watched on Instagram Live. Shaniqua Stephens tells WXIA that a witness to the livestream had told Malachi to put a clip in the weapon, which family members did not know he possessed but believe he got from a friend in exchange for an iPhone just four days earlier, per CBS 46. "As he put the clip in the gun, that is when the gun went off," says Stephens, who heard a "big boom" inside her son’s bedroom in their Georgia home. She found the teen lying in a pool of blood after kicking down his locked door. He died hours later at a hospital, reports NBC News.
Forest Park Police, who say there is no evidence the shooting was a suicide, are now trying to trace the Hi-Point 9mm pistol and say charges are possible. "This is a horrific event, not only for parents and children, but also horrific for us," a police rep says. Police are also advising parents to educate their children on the dangers of guns and monitor their children's social media activity. Malachi's parents say they did just that. But this "can happen to the best parents … to the best people," his stepfather says. "This is just a pain that will never go away," adds Stephens. "He was my only son. He was just only 13. Just the thought of me seeing him on the floor will never leave my brain." (Accidental shootings kill more kids than you know.)
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