Father and 14-year-old son charged after teen allegedly used father’s gun to kill girl in New Mexico

According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, a father and his 14-year-old son have been charged after the teenager allegedly used his father’s gun to kill a girl in New Mexico on Friday.

The 14-year-old was hanging out with three other minors at his father’s home at 104 Cabresto Road in Questa around 2:30pm listening to music, police said.

“At one point, a 14-year-old man pulled out a pistol and pointed it at a 13-year-old woman,” the Ministry of Public Security said in a press release. “The man pulled the trigger and fatally injured the woman. The man then dragged the woman’s body outside and returned to the apartment.”

Police said the pistol belonged to the teenager’s father, 39-year-old William Brown.

Brown came home after the fatal shooting. When officers arrived to investigate the murder, both Brown and his son did not leave the home for about 30 minutes, officials said.

The teenager was arrested and sent to the San Juan Juvenile Detention Center in Farmington. He was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of evidence tampering and two counts of assaulting a police officer.

The officials did not say why the 14-year-old was accused of attacking a police officer.

Brown was arrested and charged with “negligently providing a firearm to a minor resulting in death” and was held in the Taos County Detention Center.

“Out of respect for the victim’s family, the New Mexico State Police will not release the juvenile victim’s name,” the Department of Public Safety said. “We will not publish the name of the juvenile suspect in a press release either.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing and will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office upon completion.