Detectives: Brother fired fatal shot
Detectives believe a 6-year-old boy in north Spokane County was unintentionally shot to death Dec. 6 by his 11-year-old brother with a gun from their father’s safe.
“I’m pretty sure we know the details regarding the shooting, but there is still more investigation to do before we can call the case complete,” said Major Crimes Detective Doug Marske, of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
The 11-year-old initially told investigators that an intruder had entered the home at 4115 E. Eloika Lake Road and shot his brother about 5:15 p.m., while the boys were home alone. Later, while being interviewed, the boy said his sibling had shot himself with the single-shot .22-caliber rifle.
Through interviews and physical evidence, detectives say they determined that the boys’ father left his sons alone in the house while he was at work and left a set of keys that opened the gun safe.
Neighbors reported hearing the boys fire several rounds of ammunition outside.
Detectives believe the boys then returned to the home and were playing with the guns when the rifle, which the boys thought to be unloaded, went off. The 6-year-old was shot in the head, and the older boy called 911, attempted CPR on his brother and put the firearms back in the gun safe before deputies arrived.
The shooting victim, Bradley Hanley, was taken by air ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he was initially listed in grave condition but died around midnight.
Additional investigation will be needed before the juvenile court prosecutor decides whether to press charges in the case, said Cpl. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
The 11-year-old “has had issues within the school environment that need to be investigated, and there has been prior contact with the family by social service agencies,” Marske said. “All of those events need to be explored before we have a clear picture to present to the persons who make a final decision regarding the case.”
Because of the approaching school holidays, Marske predicted it will be sometime in January before he is able to wrap up the investigation.