You'll Never Believe Why This 11-Year-Old Was Charged With Murder

When an 11-year-old boy first got into an argument with his 8-year-old neighbor — about their puppies — nobody expected it to end with murder charges.

Each of the children had a puppy, and according to authorities in Jefferson County, TN, the boy asked to see the little girl's dog. Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig told The Washington Post that after she said no, the boy retrieved a gun from his house.

The boy took his father's 12-gauge shotgun, which was stored in a closet without locks, and shot the girl from his house as she stood in her yard. First responders found her "lying on the ground with a gunshot to the chest," said McCoig. She later died from her injuries at an area hospital.

"She was a precious little girl," the girl's mother, Latasha Dyer, told WATE. "She was a mommy's girl. No matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile."

The boy is currently being held in a juvenile facility while he awaits his next court hearing on Oct. 28. McCoig said the case could later be transferred to adult court.

This wasn't the first altercation between the boy and the little girl. Dyer said that she had previously approached the school principal about the 11-year-old bullying her daughter after they moved. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those involved from both families," said White Pine School principal Bill Walker.