11-year old West Virginia boy shot and killed by grandmother shooting at perceived intruders

An 11-year old boy, William Owens, was sleeping in his bed at home in Jarvisville, West Virginia, when his father and grandmother thought they heard noises outside.

That's when his grandmother went outside with her .40-caliber pistol and shot into the dark and the perceived intruders.

One of the bullets entered the boy's home through the wall and struck him in the chest, killing him.

Police found no signs of any intruders.

From an article:

Sheriff Albert Marano said Tina Owens, 57, had gone outside her house at around 11:30 Sunday night after hearing some noises. The sheriff said Owens and her son, who lives next door about 200 yards away, thought there were intruders around their homes tampering with property. 

“Tina went outside to investigate, in doing so she brought a 40-caliber pistol with her,” the sheriff said. “Upon hearing what she thought were intruders she fired her 40-caliber several times in an attempt to scare the intruders away. One of the shots went through her son’s residence and struck the victim, William Owens, in the chest while he lay in bed.” 

Owens, 11, was sleeping.

Harrison County Prosecutor said he will seek criminal indictment of Owens in the death of her grandson, William. He said it was a difficult but necessary decision because the case could have resulted in injuries to even more people. 

"It's an important public issues," he said, "particularly concerning the responsibility that comes along with exercising your Second Amendment rights." 

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