Boy, 9, Killed as He and Friend Play With Gun

A 9-year-old boy was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in his Glendale apartment, and police are questioning the boy’s 14-year-old friend, who reportedly was playing with a revolver there.

Sang Lee was shot once in the chest about 1:30 p.m. and died 45 minutes later at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Police Officer Rod Brooks said.

He said police had not yet decided whether to arrest the 14-year-old, who lives in the same apartment building as the victim. His name was not disclosed because of his age.

“At this point, it appears that the 14-year-old shot the 9-year-old,” Brooks said. “(But) we’re trying to determine whether or not that was accidental. . . . Detectives are talking with him.

“We’re talking to parents (of the victim and suspect), still talking to neighbors,” he said.

Police did not release many details about the shooting, which took place at the apartment complex in the 1200 block of Virginia Avenue, a quiet street north of downtown Glendale.

But neighbors, some of whom heard the single revolver shot, speculated that the boys, who were close friends, may have been playing with the gun and probably thought it was not loaded.

Brian Choi, 11, the victim’s neighbor, said, “ I think (the teen-ager) didn’t know that it was loaded.”

After the shooting, shocked friends and neighbors described the boys’ close relationship. Sang was a fourth-grader at nearby Keppel Elementary School. The 14-year-old was about to start school next month as a 10th-grader at Hoover High School, also nearby.

“They were always together every single day,” said neighbor Talin Honarchian, 21. “They roller-blade together, skateboard together, play basketball together. . . . I can’t even believe that.”

Brian Choi’s 17-year-old sister, Lisa, said she was in her apartment at the time of the shooting.

“It’s a really big shock to me. I never knew it would happen in my apartment complex,” Lisa said.

“All I heard was a scream. That was about it,” she said. “It’s a big accident. . . . I know that they play together a lot. I don’t think he killed him on purpose.”

The 9-year-old boy’s father, who returned to his home in the late afternoon from the police station, declined to comment. Parents of the 14-year-old could not be reached for comment.

Neighbors said Sang was an only child.

Griselle Stage, one of Sang’s teachers last year, said the boy was an excellent student.

“Sang just appeared to be a very fun-loving boy,” Stage said. “He was very good at math and he wrote beautiful stories.”

Lynda Rocamora, a Glendale Unified School District trustee who lives nearby and came to the shooting scene, said counselors will be available today to help Keppel Elementary students cope with the news of their classmate’s death.

“Everyone is just taken aback,” Rocamora said.