A woman has been charged after a 10-year-old boy fatally shot his 12-year-old brother in North City on Tuesday night as he was playing with a gun.
The shooting occurred shortly before 8:00 p.m. at a home in the 5600 block of Summit Place, in the Walnut Park West area. Lafrance Johnson, 12, and his brother were there accompanied a parent who was getting a haircut at the residence when Johnson was shot in the face, according to authorities.
Aja Johnson, 36, was eventually charged with endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death after admitting to police that she owned the weapon and had placed it in a bedroom. Aja Johnson is Lafrance Johnson’s aunt, according to court documents.
According to new court records, three children were playing alone in a bedroom when they discovered an AR-style shotgun on a bed. According to court papers, the children had previously visited the property, discovered the same unloaded rifle, and were able to play with it.
Administrators confirmed that Johnson was a sixth-grader at Rockwood School District’s Selvidge Middle School. The district issued a statement expressing their sadness at Johnson’s death.
Our sincere thoughts and sympathies are with his family as well as the educators and friends who knew and loved LaFrance. We have assembled our crisis team at Selvidge Middle and will have counselors on hand this week for students and staff who will need assistance.
The Rockwood School District
Homicide detectives were dispatched to assist with the investigation. The matter is being handled by the police department’s child abuse unit.
