Teen girl killed in accidental shooting, sheriff says

A 14-year-old Jonesboro girl died Friday night at a home near Panther Bay Marina after she was accidentally shot by another 14-year-old girl, according to a news release from Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.

Shortly before 6:00 p.m. Friday, the surviving teen called 911 to report she was playing with her father's gun and accidentally shot her friend at a home in the 150 block of Panther Heights Drive.

As BCSO deputies and medical personnel responded, BCSO investigators also were notified and responded to the scene. Radio traffic indicated a medical helicopter was called and CPR was performed on the victim.

However, those efforts were not successful and the victim was pronounced dead by the Baxter County Coroner, according to the news release. The girl had been shot once with a small caliber rifle, according to the sheriff.

The investigators began their work and were told the teens were playing hide and seek inside the home. One of the teens went to a downstairs bedroom and found the gun, which she believed to be unloaded, according to the news release.

When the victim came down the stairs and saw the weapon, the girls reportedly began laughing about the gun. The gun, according to the sheriff, was actually loaded at the time. Then, the gun  was accidentally discharged, according to the news release.

No adults were at the home when the shooting took place, according to the news release. The news release did not specify if the teens were the only people in the residence at the time.

The body of the dead teen was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Little Rock to determine the official cause and manner of death, a standard move in a case like this one, the sheriff said in the news release.

The sheriff said no foul play is suspected.