Boy, 13, Held in Wounding of Classmate

Los Angeles police have arrested a 13-year-old Canoga Park boy on suspicion of attempted murder after a classmate was shot in the neck during an alleged game of Russian roulette, authorities said Wednesday.

The incident occurred about 6:40 p.m. Friday at the boy’s Canoga Park home, while his parents were away, Police Lt. Bill Gaida said. Another youngster in the home called police, and the victim, Dwayne McKee, 14, of Woodland Hills, was taken by helicopter to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he remained in serious condition Wednesday in the intensive-care unit.

The bullet severed the youth’s spinal cord, and doctors said he will be permanently paralyzed from the neck down, according to Gaida.

Police said the boy taken into custody, whose name was not released because of his age, told them the shooting was accidental.

Hospital Statement

Interviewed by police at the hospital Tuesday, however, Dwayne told a different story, Gaida said.

Later Tuesday, the suspect, accompanied by his father and a lawyer, went to the West Valley Division police station. He was booked after he gave detectives inconsistent statements during a tape-recorded interview, Gaida said.

Police said physical evidence contradicted the suspect’s account of the shooting.

“It was physically not possible for the gun to have fired in the way he said,” Gaida reported.

According to police, Dwayne said the 13-year-old went into his parents’ bedroom, emptied out his father’s .38-caliber revolver, loaded it with one bullet and spun the barrel. He then pulled the trigger with the gun pointed at his own head. The gun did not fire, officers said.

Police said Dwayne told them he protested as his friend then pointed the gun at him and fired once, the bullet striking him in the right side of the neck.

Gaida said there is no evidence that the youth intended to kill his friend, but police believe they can prove he deliberately aimed the gun at Dwayne.

Jailed in Sylmar

The 13-year-old was being held in Sylmar Juvenile Hall. The arrested youth’s father said in an interview Wednesday that the shooting was an accident, which occurred after Dwayne asked his son to see the gun. He expressed sympathy for the wounded boy’s parents, to whom he said he had just spoken.

“I can’t feel any worse,” he said. “I just got the gun . . . as a birthday present.”

Both boys are eighth-graders at George Ellery Hale Junior High School in Woodland Hills. Principal Charles Welch said they were scheduled to graduate next week.

Tracy Brockstein, a classmate, described Dwayne as “the nicest.”

“He cared about everyone. If you ever had a problem, you could talk to him,” she said.