Juvenile charged in teen’s shooting death

A 14-year-old boy is dead and another juvenile is being charged with manslaughter after a possible accidental shooting in Lafayette on Sunday.

According to a release, the 14-year-old was brought to Good Samaritan Hospital by a private vehicle with a gunshot injury about 1:07 a.m. Sunday. The teen, who has not yet been identified, died of his injuries.

The Boulder County Coroner will release the boy’s name and conduct an autopsy and investigation to determine official cause and manner of death.

Based on information obtained at the hospital, investigators believe the boy was accidentally shot at a home in the 400 block of West Oak Street in Lafayette.

A juvenile suspect was identified and booked on charges of manslaughter and released to his parents. Because the defendant is a juvenile, his name has not been released.

Under Colorado law, manslaughter can be charged when a person “recklessly causes the death of another person.”

On Tuesday, two days after the shooting, the neighborhood of single-family homes situated near the central par t of Lafayette was

quiet, and there were no visible signs of an on-going police investigation.

Several residents said they were unaware of or unwilling to talk about the events that occurred.

“I don’t really know,” Soraya Benmellah said when asked about the fatal shooting. “I just saw that there was, like, police searching and looking for things. That’s really all I know about it.”

Like many of her neighbors, Benmellah did not know many details.

One resident said he saw a lot of vehicles and one police car in the area on Sunday.

He said he’s been waiting to hear more information about the shooting, but hasn’t heard anything else.

Lafayette police said the case remains under investigation.