A 10-year-old boy confessed to shooting and killing a man in his sleep two years ago, Texas officials say.
Brandon Rasberry was killed while sleeping at a recreational vehicle (RV) park in Nixon, Texas, in January 2022, just four days after he moved into the area.
The 32-year-old’s body was discovered after he failed to show up to work for two days. He had been shot once in the head.
The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office said the child – who was seven at the time of the shooting and did not know Mr Rasberry – cannot be charged with the crime because of his age.
According to Texas law, a child must be at least ten to have criminal culpability. The boy was later evaluated at a psychiatric hospital, and is being held in juvenile detention for a separate incident.
Speaking to local news outlet KSAT, the victim’s father Kenneth Rasberry said: “This is a little boy, for reasons that I’m sure these counsellors and case managers and all of that, that’s going to pick that poor little boy’s brain apart.
“He needs to be prayed on. He needs to be comforted… He’s forgiven. And he can still be saved. He’s so young. He’s definitely tormented by something.”
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Boy threatened to kill student
The sheriff’s office said that they were called on 12 April over a boy threatening to assault and kill another student on a bus the day before.
When a deputy arrived at the school, he spoke with officials who told him that the child admitted he shot and killed a man in 2022.
After transporting him to an advocacy centre, he admitted to killing Mr Rasberry at the RV park and described the incident in detail.
According to the sheriff’s office, the child said he was visiting his grandfather – who lived near to Mr Rasberry – at Lazy J RV Park.
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Brandon Rasberry was killed at the trailer park in Nixon, Texas, just four days after he moved in. Pic: Google Street View
On 16 January, the child said he took a pistol from a glovebox in his grandfather’s truck, and then entered the RV belonging to Mr Rasberry. He then shot him once in the head.
As he was leaving the mobile home, the child fired another shot into a couch, before returning the firearm to the glovebox of the truck.
The child added he had never met Mr Rasberry and said he was not upset with him before the shooting.
He was placed on a 72-hour emergency detention, and was later transported to a psychiatric hospital in San Antonio for evaluation and treatment.
Upon release from the hospital, the child was booked in on charges relating to the school bus incident for terroristic threat and was placed in detention.