A 16-year-old boy died on Tuesday morning after being shot while he and his friend played with firearms, Columbus, Ohio police reported.
Keontae Harper passed away on May 17, several weeks after the incident.
On April 22, Harper and his 17-year-old friend Denarius Crowder were playing with handguns when they began playfully pointing the guns at each other, according to police. Crowder accidentally shot Harper, causing serious injuries.
Initially, Crowder was charged with a delinquency count of felonious assault in Franklin County Juvenile Court. However, police have now revealed that the charge will be upgraded to a delinquency count of reckless homicide.
Harper’s grandfather, Michael, kept the public updated on the teenager’s condition through Facebook in the weeks leading up to his death. On May 6, he announced that Harper’s family had decided to register him as an organ donor.
Both Harper and Crowder attended Independence High School on the Southeast Side of Columbus, with Crowder playing basketball for the school during the last season.
Columbus city officials referred to the incident during a press conference after the shooting and urged firearm owners to store their weapons safely to prevent children from accessing them. Following this, Columbus City Council passed common-sense gun laws, including this requirement. However, Ohio Republicans, including Attorney General Dave Yost, have challenged the city’s right to impose gun laws in court.
Harper’s death is the fifth fatality of a person under 18 in Columbus due to gun violence in 2023. In 2022, there were 11 minors killed in shootings.
