High school quarterback dead, friend charged in accidental shooting, Georgia cops say
Police charged a 16-year-old who they say accidentally shot and killed a 15-year-old high school quarterback in Georgia.
The teen, whose name has not been released by police, was arrested Monday following the Nov. 25 shooting of Mitaiveon Tutt in Wilkes County, about 115 miles east of Atlanta, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He was charged as a juvenile.
Tutt, who played football at Washington-Wilkes High School, was shot when the other teen was handling a gun that discharged, investigators said. He was rushed to Augusta University Medical Center, where he died three days later.
The team’s roster lists Tutt as a quarterback and a defensive back.
“I’m going to miss my precious baby,” said Tutt’s aunt, Gloria Tutt-Harris, WRDW reported. “I’m going to miss everything about him. I just can’t bear the thought of being without him.”
The boy’s body was then taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Decatur for an autopsy, officials said.
The 16-year-old was being held at a state juvenile detention center, according to GBI. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct, possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 18 and tampering with evidence.
Local residents said they were on edge after another nearby shooting in which an 18-year-old was injured when someone fired multiple rounds into his home, WRDW reported.
“It’s got to stop,” Gloria Tutt-Harris said, according to the station. “I don’t know where these babies are getting these guns from, but they don’t know what they’re doing. And they need to have people to look up to that can tell them that this is wrong, and it needs to stop.”
Investigators said the incident remains under investigation.
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 12:34 PM with the headline "High school quarterback dead, friend charged in accidental shooting, Georgia cops say."