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Boy’s Death May Result in Charges : Shooting: Police weigh options as family mourns loss of 14-year-old in what authorities are calling an accident.

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Police were considering criminal charges against a 16-year-old Sylmar High School student who fatally shot a friend in a case they believe to be accidental, authorities said Monday.

As the parents of Chris Mitchell grieved Monday over the loss of their 14-year-old son, police said prosecutors will have a variety of options in the case.

“It’s pretty widespread as to what they could do with this,” Detective Ray Broker said. “We’re looking at the possibility of some negligent handling of the gun itself.”

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The teen-ager who was holding the gun was not identified because he is a juvenile.

Chris and about four other friends skipped school Friday. They were at the 16-year-old’s condominium when he took out a gun, police said. It went off, seemingly by accident, and Chris crumpled to the ground, shot in the head, police said. As the other youths fled, the 16-year-old remained and called an ambulance, police said.

On Monday, Chris’ parents were reeling from the shock. “It’s been a tragic loss,” said his mother, Christy Mitchell. “This is a mother’s worst nightmare.”

More than 200 mourners attended a rosary at St. Didacus Catholic Church in Sylmar, and recalled Chris’ ready smile, his goofy boyishness and the way he excelled in his favorite role, that of big brother.

“Anything you can think of, he could do,” said a girl who knew Chris for nine years. He “was always smiling, always happy. That’s what I’ll miss.”

Chris was a baby-faced youth, looking far younger than his 14 years. Several students from Sylmar High School, where Chris was a freshman, refused to comment, saying they feared their friend would be portrayed as a truant who deserved his death rather than the victim of a tragic accident.

The school was only notified of Chris’ death Monday morning, and a crisis intervention team was sent to the campus to counsel students. “It really was a shock,” said Jeanne Yamamoto, an administrator with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

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Mitchell said she still doesn’t know how her son died.

“We don’t know very much,” she said. Police “told us at 3 o’clock Friday afternoon that our son was dead. They told us very little then and haven’t gotten back with us since.”

Detective Broker would not say whose gun killed Chris, nor would he say how the shooter came into possession of the gun.

The shooting occurred in a gated complex on Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar. Neighbors said they have not seen the family since the incident.

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