Family says 14-year-old was shot by best friend since 3rd grade while playing with gun
JAMAICA, Queens (WABC) -- The NYPD is still investigating the death of a 14-year-old in Queens who was fatally shot as he and friends allegedly played with a gun inside of an apartment.
Another teenager, a 15-year-old, was charged in his death.
Jamauri Mezar's distraught family spoke with Eyewitness News.
"No mother or any family should have to even come to that point. When I heard the news and I didn't want to believe it's true. I feel as I'm talking to you. I don't think it's true," said the victim's aunt, Dina Almonor.
Her nephew was with a group of friends at their family's apartment on 161st Street in Jamaica on Wednesday when someone brought a gun.
Police say Mezar was shot in the head and killed.
Authorities say a 15-year-old who was there is facing manslaughter and gun charges.
His family says the teen has been Mezar's friend since third grade.
"Unfortunately, this is what we're dealing with. Guns being in the wrong hands. We watch it with the kids. We talk to them but you know, kids going to hear you one minute, and when they get with their friends, it's another story," Almonor said.
Outside of MS38 in Jamaica, there were candles and balloons released for Mezar.
His family is left with only grief and questions now.
"You don't know how to feel. One minute you're happy that it's solved, but is it really solved? You know, because they're both kids," Almonor said.
As they plan a funeral, their biggest hope is that others hear Mezar's story.
"Because he's just a boy who's just 14 and loved life and had friends. He was in his home, a safe haven, when this action took place," Almonor said.
They hope it is a wake-up call that can save others.
"We're losing too many of our young brothers and sons to gun violence," she said.
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