WSB(LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.) — One teenager was accidentally shot, and another committed suicide in related tragedies hours before ringing in the new year in Georgia.
A group of teens had gathered at a “makeshift shed” in Lawrenceville, an upscale suburb of Atlanta, on Monday afternoon when one of them pulled out a handgun and accidentally shot one of the others, according to the Gwinnett County Police Department.
Two of the four teens ran, but police believe the boy who fired the original shot stayed in the shed and called 911.
Responding officers found one teen dead inside the shed and then “heard a single gunshot while attempting to locate the involved parties from the initial 911 call.”
“Officers located a male with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound a short distance from the makeshift shed,” a statement from Gwinnett police said.
Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported the teens were between 16 and 18 years old.
“You know, it’s New Year’s Eve and to have this happen so close to home, it’s just really devastating,” a neighbor told WSB. “Nothing like this ever [happened] in this neighborhood.”
Authorities said the two teens’ identities were not being released pending notification of family.
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