Affidavit: Teen Was 'Playing' With Gun Before Fatally Shooting 16-Year-Old Girl In Dallas
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - New documents describe in detail what led to the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl at a party in a Dallas apartment early Sunday morning.
William Hester, 19, was arrested that same day and charged with manslaughter in the death of Jakiyah Wrightsil.
People who live at the apartment complex are still in shock about what happened.
"That's not normal. They're kids, and that's a girl's life that was taken... so that very sad," one resident said.
According to the affidavit, witnesses told police someone brought a handgun to the party early Sunday and that Hester started to play with it. Witnesses said he was pointing it at people's heads.
Witnesses said Wrightsil thought the handgun was a BB gun and told Hester jokingly to shoot her in the leg. Hester pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger.
"To the family, I want them to know that our hearts and prayers go out to them. It hurts me so much because I work directly with a lot of families, and I see their pain," said Patricia Allen, founder of the nonprofit group No More Violence.
Allen helps parents who lost a child to gun violence and says in the future, more has to be done to prevent tragedies like Sunday's from happening again.
"We have to educate our young people on what guns do... it kills," said Allen.
She says teenagers need to know if they see a gun to tell a parent, and also parents need to know where their children are at all times.
"It takes everyone in the community to understand, 'Hey this is not my child, but I'm going to do what I can to share with their family,'" said Allen.
Allen believes social media is a great tool for staying informed and suggests parents should use it to communicate with other parents about their children.
