The teen surrendered to police in Brooklyn.
Police said the teen was playing with a gun and pointed it at the 12-year-old boy and pulled the trigger in the lobby of a Brownsville apartment building last week.
The boy was shot in the left shoulder just before 9:20 p.m. on last Tuesday night.
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Detectives have determined a group of eight to 10 youths was "playing or hanging out" in the lobby of the apartment building.
They were playing with a gun when, based on video or witnesses accounts, detectives believe one of the youths removed a magazine from the firearm, pointed it at the victim and pulled the trigger.
Detectives believe the suspect who fired the gun did not realize there was a bullet still in the chamber.
The group of youths scattered after the shot was fired, dropping the weapon behind.
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Neighbors said they hoped the tragedy would be a warning for others.
"I would tell my younger sister, you see any gun, don't play with it, don't touch it," said neighbor Shania Weeks. "It's not fun to play with at all. It could really take somebody's life.
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