GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 13-year-old boy has been charged in the accidental shooting death of Gabriel Hojnacki, 13.
The shooting happened Saturday night when the two boys were playing with a gun unsupervised at a home on Alpine Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets, police say.
Hojnacki was transported to a hospital for treatment after being shot in the chest. He later died at the hospital.
The suspect was taken into custody after the shooting.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said Tuesday that the boy was charged with careless discharge causing death. His identity will not be released, Becker says.
If the juvenile is adjudicated of the crime, the juvenile could receive a 93-day misdemeanor up to a high misdemeanor of two years.
Unlike if an adult is convicted of a similar crime, these misdemeanors for juveniles don't necessarily involve any incarceration.
"The person is essentially gonna be put on some sort of probation, juvenile probation with counseling, treatment services, maybe I mean, looking at, you know, what's going on in the family to try and help that juvenile rehabilitate and not do something like this again. So it's very different in terms of punishment that a juvenile faces, when versus when they're in the adult system," said Becker.
Becker did note that firearm charges among juveniles are more common now than they used to be and this is a cause for concern among law enforcement.
"That's somewhat of a scary thing, and very concerning thing for law enforcement in terms of the level of crimes that we are seeing with firearms in the juvenile system that we are trying to react to and need and probably need some more tools and how we properly deal with them because it is becoming a much bigger problem. Weapons offenses in the juvenile system," Becker added.
Becker says that the focus of the juvenile system is rehabilitation and that many defendants give a plea because after a plea, the juvenile will be given services to correct their behavior.
"The idea is, you get a juvenile probation officer, they'll take a look at that juvenile, and it depends on what the needs are. Is it their mental health? Is there substance abuse?... Do they have substance abuse issues? Is it depression? Is it you know, is there something with the family? Is it you know, sometimes, food necessity... they try and take a look as best they can and get what service they can," Becker said about the rehabilitation efforts.
When asked if this charge would have any effect on the ability of the juvenile to purchase a firearm after turning 18, Becker said, "The juvenile system could maintain jurisdiction over them for more of the serious cases until they are 21. So that could have a prevention in terms of you know, while they're on sort of juvenile probation, or something along those lines, that they wouldn't be able to, but I guess, for something that happened when they're very young, and it doesn't show up on the record, it probably would not show up. I can't say I've ever come across that off the top of my head, but I don't think I've come across it because it's not a conviction. It's not a conviction on somebody's record. It happens in juvenile it's an adjudication and that is sealed."
Becker also noted that the juvenile system faces several challenges when trying to rehabilitate a juvenile offender. Finding ways to work with the juvenile and the families can sometimes be difficult and the lack of lockdown facilities for violent offenders sometimes can be problematic because of safety risks for the public. The job of the probation officer and juvenile system is to work with the individual and try to rehabilitate them before their sentence ends.
Watch the full interview with Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker here:
Family members say Hojnacki was spunky, free-spirited and adventurous. He was a kind boy who was loved by everyone.
His family sent 13 ON YOUR SIDE a statement saying in part, "He loved many activities including fishing, going to his family's cabin, playing sports and riding with his friends. This is such a tragedy and we are all devastated."
Hojnacki attended Kenowa Hills Public Schools. Superintendent Gerald Hopkins released a statement about Hojnacki's death:
"Our staff is heartbroken at the tragic loss of Gabe. He was a very personable boy. He was very social and free spirited. He cared about his siblings and his friends and would do anything for them. He loved talking about snowboarding and his bikes and riding them with his friends."
A GoFundMe has been created to help pay for the funeral expenses.
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