A South Carolina teen fatally shot himself while playing with his assistant basketball coach's gun early Sunday.
The 14-year-old and a 13-year-old cousin were at the assistant coach's home at Colonial Heights apartments shortly before 1 a.m. when the victim found a gun in the kitchen cabinet and started playing with it while singing.
The victim, later identified as Zakius Davis, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest.
“Just a tragic, unfortunate event. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and everybody involved in this situation,” Gaffney High School Superintendent Dr. Dana Fall said.
“Our school families, we've had counselors out at all the schools making sure that our employees and our kids are taken care of.”
The coroner's office also issued a statement calling the incident “an absolutely tragic event.”
“It should send a loud message to adults that our children must be protected from having access to weapons whether loaded or unloaded.”
