Police accuse 13-year-old of shooting and killing his classmate in Central California
A 13-year-old boy in Central California is suspected of killing his 14-year-old classmate, authorities said Monday.
Diego Perez was shot Friday about 9:30 p.m. at an apartment complex in Huron, a town about 50 miles south of Fresno, according to Tony Botti, a spokesman for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Huron police officers rushed to the apartment complex and found Diego dead from gunshot wounds.
The Fresno County sheriff’s detectives took over the case for local police and identified a 13-year-old boy as the suspect in the slaying.
The teen, also a resident of Huron, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. His name was not released because he is a juvenile, Botti said in a statement.
It’s unclear what may have motivated the killing.
Diego’s mother, Tricia Sease, told KFSN-TV Channel 30, the ABC affiliate in Fresno, that the suspect had known her son and that the two had recently fought at school. Diego had been afraid for his life, she said.
Sease also told the news station that before the shooting, the suspect had aimed a gun at her son’s girlfriend.
“My son threw her to the floor and took off running, said, ‘I love you,’” Sease said.
Botti said detectives were wrapping up the investigation and expected to present the case to juvenile probation officials, who will work with prosecutors to evaluate criminal charges.
Twitter: @MattHjourno
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