New Jersey

11-Year-Old Responsible for 10-Year-Old's Shooting Death in Newark

The child was apparently accidentally shot from within the apartment

A 10-year-old boy was shot to death Saturday inside a New Jersey home, and authorities identified the culprit on Monday: an 11-year-old who was holding the gun when it went off accidentally. 

The 10-year-old boy was found in a third-floor apartment in Newark with a gunshot wound, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray said Saturday. 

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement Monday confirming the details of the killing and identifying the dead child as Josiah Coleman. 

"How many more tragedies must we endure, before Congress gets the courage to enact strong national gun controls?" Baraka said in a statement. 

The mayor's statement did not elaborate on what, if anything, would be done to the 11-year-old who was holding the gun. Representatives of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office were not immediately available to comment. 

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