Newhall Boy, 13, Killed in Game With Pistol

A 14-year-old boy shot a 13-year-old friend to death in a game of Russian roulette Tuesday in Valencia, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Gabriel Soto, 13, of Newhall, died instantly when he was hit by a single round from a large-caliber handgun, Sheriff’s Sgt. Birl Adams said.

The gun belonged to the father of the boy who allegedly fired the shot, Adams said.

The 14-year-old, whose identity was not revealed because of his age, was taken to Sylmar Juvenile Hall and held on suspicion of murder, Adams said.

“They were playing a version of Russian roulette,” said Deputy Val Mosley. “The difference was, they were pointing the loaded gun at each other instead of at themselves, and the 13-year-old happened to be the unlucky one.”

The boys were in the living room of an apartment where the 14-year-old lives with his parents, when the shooting occured at about 12:30 p.m., Adams said. The boys were schoolmates at Placerita Junior High School in Newhall, Adams said.

The 14-year-old’s parents were not home at the time of the shooting, Adams said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the 14-year-old had played Russian roulette two weeks ago with another boy in the same apartment, Adams said. The gun did not go off in the earlier game, he said.