Alleged Killer in Russian Roulette Had Played Before

The Valencia teen-ager who allegedly shot and killed 13-year-old Gabriel Soto during a one-sided game of Russian roulette had played the dangerous game before with other friends, authorities said Wednesday.

The 14-year-old boy also reportedly had bragged on the school bus of pointing his father’s gun at his own head and at those of playmates and pulling the trigger, members of Soto’s family said they had been told.

But whether any adults heard the boasts, or if they merely had not taken them seriously, remained unclear Wednesday. What does appear clear is that Soto, and a third boy who was present, were reluctant participants in the game Tuesday afternoon.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies said the youth who held the gun during the self-styled Russian roulette game kept possession of it at all times.

Third Boy Identified

Soto and the third boy, identified by Soto’s family as Aaron Schwartz, 14, were probably prevented by the youth with the gun from leaving the first-floor apartment across from the Vista Valencia Golf Course in Valencia where the shooting occurred about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The suspected killer lived in the apartment with his parents, who were not home at the time.

“It was something they couldn’t stop, seeing that the other boy had the gun,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Birl Adams said.

Authorities were not releasing the name of the 14-year-old who allegedly shot Soto. The boy was being held Wednesday at Sylmar Juvenile Hall. Adams said the case will be presented today to the district attorney, who will decide whether the boy should be charged.

Adams said the youth, who reportedly had moved here recently from Oregon, had played Russian roulette two weeks earlier, according to friends. He had held the gun to his own head and to the head of at least one playmate and pulled the trigger, but the gun had not gone off.

Investigators said they had yet to interview the youths who had been present during the earlier events.

Confided Fear of Youth

Edward Soto Jr., Gabriel’s 15-year-old brother, said he had not heard of the earlier Russian roulette incident. But he said that only last week Gabriel had confided that he was afraid of the youth who allegedly did the shooting.

“He once told me he had had problems with him,” said Edward Soto, a student at Hart High School. “He asked for my help and I was supposed to go to school to see what was going on.”

Gabriel Soto and Schwartz were enrolled in afternoon classes at Placerita Junior High School in Newhall and were not scheduled to be at school until 1 p.m. The other boy also attended Placerita but it was unclear whether he was enrolled in the same classes as Soto and Schwartz.

The boy who allegedly shot Soto first spun the chamber on the gun, a large-caliber revolver, aimed it either at his own head or at one of his companions, and pulled the trigger, Adams said investigators were told. He spun the chamber again and aimed. Adams said he did this several times.

Then, perhaps shaken by a vision, Aaron Schwartz yelled: “Don’t do it!” A second later, Gabriel Soto was dead.

Father Appears Somber

Edward Soto Sr., Gabriel’s father, was surrounded by numerous members of his family in his small home on Arch Street in Newhall on Wednesday afternoon. He smoked cigarettes, barely lifting his gaze from his feet, and wondered why his middle child was dead.

“It looked like he didn’t want to be there when the boy shot him,” Edward Soto said quietly, repeating what investigators had told him.

Edward Soto said his son had experienced problems at school, and he had to take time off from his job as an auto mechanic to straighten them out. But, he said, “he wasn’t a bad kid.” Other family members described him as happy, friendly and nice.

Things had improved during the last six weeks, since Gabriel had been transferred to the special afternoon classes at Placerita, his father said.

‘Doing Pretty Good’

“On his last report card, he was doing pretty good,” the father said. “It was helping him quite a bit. If he did better, next year they were going to put him in the regular school.”

Placerita Principal Jim Tanner said, “There’s a lot of shock that accompanies something like this. There are many tears and a lot of sadness.”

About 80 students sought counseling from a school district crisis intervention team that visited the junior high on Wednesday. A memorial service for the boy is scheduled for Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall.