(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
The 16-year-old boy who police believe shot and killed a man inside a car in downtown Spokane this week thought the safety of the gun was on, according to newly released court documents.
Spokane Police were called to a reported shooting in downtown on Tuesday near Washington and Spokane Falls Boulevard. They arrived to find medics giving aid to a man, identified in court documents as 24-year-old Jose Ismael Hernandez-Solo, but he was later pronounced dead.
Detectives interviewed the occupants of the car, including the victim's 23-year-old pregnant girlfriend. She told police her and her boyfriend, along with her brother and his friend, came to Spokane from Selah with the intent of going to Silverwood. They arrived the night before the shooting and checked into a downtown Spokane motel. The next day, they decided not to go to Silverwood and instead stayed in Spokane.
After returning to their parked car, they decided to return home. Hernandez-Solo asked his girlfriend's brother to hand him his gun, described as an AK-47 in documents, from the back seat. As the 16-year-old grabbed the gun, it went off, hitting Hernandez-Solo.
"Oh my God, I thought the safety was on," the 16-year-old said, according to documents.
The suspect told detectives he grabbed the gun from the behind the rear seat, brought it forward over the top of his head and placed it on his lap. The suspect told police neither the straight or drum magazine was in the gun, but as soon as he set it on his lap, it fired through the seat and into Hernandez-Solo.
The 16-year-old was arrested and booked for one count of 2nd Degree Manslaughter.