Two young cousins in St. Louis have died from what their family is describing as “a freak accident” broadcast live on Instagram.
According to local reporting from KSDK, 12-year-old girl Paris Harvey and 14-year-old boy Kauron Harvey were shot dead while they were playing with a gun in the Cupples Station Loft Apartments.
Officers responded to the Loft at around 2 a.m. on Friday, where both children were found dead.
According to Shanise Harvey, the 12-year-old girl’s mother, she allowed Paris to attend the gathering of area kin to celebrate several birthdays.
“Everybody was getting together to celebrate, and so the younger kids, they got a bed and breakfast,” Harvey told KSDK. “They were making a video, and [Paris] was playing with the gun, but it went off and hit him.”
“[Paris] dropped the gun, and it fell, and it went off to my knowledge,” she continued. “And then when she picked it up, she picked it up by the barrel, and it went off. That’s all I know … It was not a suicide. It was just a freak accident.”
Harvey’s account contrasts with police, who have called the tragic incident a murder-suicide.
The grieving mother shared that Kauron Harvey was her nephew and godson, a teenager celebrating his 14th birthday. Harvey added that she did not attend the party. According to a report, neither did Kauron’s mother.
Police are still investigating who the gun belonged to and how the children gained access to it. Harvey has said that she did not know who owned it or how the cousins found it.
“With all that family there, they should have basically made sure she was OK,” she told KDSK. “Everybody should have stuck with somebody.”
The St. Louis Police Department shared a photo tribute to the children on social media, writing, “We are sending our heartfelt condolences to the family of 12-year-old Paris Harvey and 14-year-old Kuaron Harvey who tragically passed away on 3/25/22.”
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