An 11-year-old boy killed his 8-year-old neighbor in White Pine, Tennessee on Tuesday because she would not let him see her puppy, reported The Daily News.
The boy, whose identity is being protected, saw little Maykayla Dyer playing outside of his window and he asked her if he could see her puppy.
Maykayla said "no," and an argument ensued. Then, the young boy found his father's 12-gauge shotgun in an unlocked closet, went back to his bedroom window, and shot Dyer in the chest through his window, The Daily News noted.
The police were called to Robic Road in White Plain around 7:30 p.m., Saturday, according to local WBIR.
Neighbor Chasity Arwood, who lives nearby the shooting victim, said that Dyer lived with her two older siblings and her mother, reported WBIR.
According to Arwood, "He asked the little girl to see her puppies. She said no and laughed and then turned around, looked at her friend and said, 'Let's go get the-' and never got 'puppies out," because then the boy shot Maykayla.
"That weapon should have been under lock and key, or at least out of hand's reach," Arwood told WBIR.
The boy's father told police that he obtained the gun legally and he took his son hunting many times. The only other firearm in the home was a BB gun, stated The Daily News.
"When we first moved to White Pine, the little boy was bullying Maykayla. He was making fun of her, calling her names, just being mean to her. I had to go to the principal about him and he quit for a while, and then all of a sudden yesterday he shot her," Maykayla's mother, Latasha Dyer, told ABC6 News.
The 8-year-old girl was a third grader at White Pine Elementary School and the 11-year-old boy was a fifth grader at the same school, The New York Times noted.
On Monday, counselors were at the school to help children process the news, Cheriff McCoig told ABC6 News.
The young gunman was charged with first-degree murder as a juvenile.
According to The New York Times, the boy is being held in a Knoxville juvenile facility and he will appear in court on Oct. 28, when the judge may decide whether to the fifth grader should be tried as a juvenile or as an adult.
