An 18-year-old from Baltimore has been charged with the murder of his 8-year-old brother. Authorities say he used a shotgun he received in exchange for a puppy.
Devin Wilson was arrested Tuesday in connection with the Dec. 30 killing of Dylan King.
WBAL-TV 11 reports police charged him with first- and second-degree murder.
Police reports show Wilson was watching four younger siblings ranging from 2 to 8 years old when the shooting occurred. He called his mother before the police, asking her to come home because Dylan had been shot. When his stepfather arrived, he told him the young boy had accidentally shot himself, but police disproved that claim because of the gunshot pattern found on the walls, according to WBFF.
When police responded, they found a neighbor performing CPR on Dylan. He was rushed to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.
“All of a sudden, you heard this screaming and yelling,” Robert Carter, a neighbor, told WBAL-TV 11 of what he heard at the time of the shooting. “Then, we found out the child died, but we still didn’t know what happened until a day later.”
As they searched the home, authorities found Wilson upstairs sobbing hysterically in blood-soaked clothing, pointing a gun at his forehead.
Police were able to talk the teen into putting down the gun.
He was later transported to the hospital for evaluation. He wasn’t criminally charged with anything then but was in police custody for a psychiatric evaluation because of his suicide threat.
The medical examiner ruled Dylan’s death a homicide by a single gunshot wound.
Wilson was transported to the Department of Public Safety’s Central Booking and Intake Center.
The 18-year-old had no prior record or run-ins with the law.
WBAL states he was interested in purchasing a gun and went to the gun range with his stepfather when he turned 18.
Although it’s unknown who Wilson completed the trade with for the firearm, the transaction was legal as the outlet states that Wilson was 18 and had no criminal history when he bought the Silver Eagle pump action shotgun.
Dylan was one of 12 siblings. His family states they all shared “an inseparable bond,” the Daily Mail reported.
A GoFundMe campaign exists “not only for funeral expenses but also day to day living as his family grieves and navigates through this terrible time.”
On the page, family and friends remembered the young child as “the sweetest child you will ever meet.”
Wilson is in jail without bail and scheduled to be in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 15.
