Boy, 13, Killed by Friend as They Played With Rifle

A 13-year-old boy playing with a hunting rifle was shot and killed when a friend grabbed the weapon and fired at the boy’s head, thinking the weapon was unloaded, police said Wednesday.

Danny Sarmiento died instantly, Whittier Police Officer Chuck Drylie said. Danny and his brother were playing in their Whittier home with a 14-year-old friend about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, Drylie said.

Danny was playing with a large-caliber, lever-action rifle, he said.

“He appeared to have unloaded it and was pointing it around the room,” the officer said.

When Danny aimed the weapon at his friend, the friend became annoyed, Drylie said. Thinking it was unloaded, the friend snatched the rifle away, pointed it at Danny and squeezed the trigger, Drylie said.

The friend was taken to the Whittier police station for questioning and later released, Drylie said. The shooting has been ruled as accidental, pending further investigation, he said.

But police were still determining whether to charge Danny’s parents with child endangerment or neglect, Drylie said. The loaded weapon was not locked away, he added.

“It was loose in the house and accessible to the children,” he said. Danny’s family declined to comment on the incident.

Friends of the young victim who stood outside the boy’s Villa Drive home Wednesday said the boy loved fixing up old low-rider bicycles. They recalled riding with him up and down the neighborhood, rap music blaring from the radio he had attached to the back of one of his bikes.

Police believe that all three boys involved had experience with using weapons and had hunting licenses.