Sunday, September 28, 2008

Palladium-Item (IN)
Gunshot wound puts teen on life support
Family gathers around bedside of 'most helpful person'
BY MICHELLE MANCHIR • STAFF WRITER • September 26, 2008

A 16-year-old Richmond youth described by family as "the most helpful person" remained Thursday evening on life support at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Police say Corey A. Smith, 16, 809 N. 18th St., suffered a self-inflicted gunshot to his head.

His cousin, LaTosha Deloney, 23, of Richmond said Thursday afternoon several of the teen's friends and family members were at his bedside.

"We've got a hospital full of kids (to see him)," she said.

Smith,a junior at Richmond High School, was holding a .32-caliber revolver when it fired around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 515 S. Eighth St., police said.

"From what we've been able to find it was just ... horseplay more than anything," said Lt. Brad Berner of the Richmond Police Department. "We don't think he intended to do anything. He was just playing around with it ... thinking it wasn't going to fire. According to a witness he fired once and it didn't go off."

Berner discounted initial reports indicating Smith might have been playing Russian roulette, a potentially lethal parlay situation in which participants place a single round inside a revolver, spin the cylinder and pull the trigger. Police are continuing to investigate the events leading to the accidental shooting, and also attempting to determine how Smith obtained the handgun.

1 comment:

Godsgrl765 said...

I'm Corey's aunt and we have reason to believe that this was no accident and that Corey did NOT do this himself! We have gone to the police with evidence of foul play but they haven't investigated it any further. Chief Wolski said that he agrees that, with the new evidence we have, that it warrants further investigatin but so far they've done NOTHING! Our family met with him in Feb. It's now July and they've not even questioned the other boys who were involved!! It's been 9 1/2 months since we saw and held ur precious boy...we miss him so much and we just want the truth to come out but the Richmond Police Dept. don't care. If anyone has any information at all please, please, please take it to the police!! If they get enough people hounding them they will have to re-open his case and find out what REALLY happened!!

Thank you...
Corey's Aunt Christy