Self-shooting kills teen in Jonesboro

JONESBORO - A 17-yearold boy died after shooting himself while looking at a handgun in the parking lot of a Jonesboro restaurant Wednesday evening, police said Thursday.

The boy, whom police did not name because he was a minor, shot himself at Chick-fil-A at the Turtle Creek mall on Stadium Drive about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, police spokesman Sgt. Doug Formon said.

According to a police report, the boy was part of a Walnut Street Baptist Church youth group that went to the restaurant after a meeting.

The 17-year-old got in the back seat of another member’s truck at the restaurant and asked to see a .357-caliber handgun owned by the member’s grandfather that was kept in a holster in the truck, officer Keith Baggett said in his report.

A witness inside the truck said the boy took the gun out of the holster, placed it under his chin and pulled the trigger.

There was one round inside the gun’s chamber, Formon said.

Arkansas, Pages 18 on 09/20/2013

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