Florida officials say 10-year-old boy killed himself after mom sent him to his room
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Police said a 10-year-old Florida boy shot and killed himself Thursday after his mother “was addressing a behavioral issue” before school and now they’re investigating how the firearm was stored.
Clearwater police spokesman Rob Shaw said Thursday afternoon that Ian Sevostjanov’s mother had sent him to his room that morning. According to a news release, the boy was sent to a room in his family’s apartment, where he obtained the gun.
Ian, who was in fifth grade, died from a single shot. He was a student at Belleair Elementary, and fatally shot himself before 8:27 a.m., CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP reported.
Paramedics tried to save him but he died in the family’s apartment.
His mother, Olga Grusetskaja, 50, was home when the shooting happened, police said. The boy’s father and brother were not home.
Police chief Dan Slaughter said the handgun was owned by someone in the apartment. Slaughter also said detectives are interviewing family members, who are in distress.
The apartment complex where the shooting took place is near downtown Clearwater, west of Tampa on the Gulf Coast.