Teen With History Of Gun Shoots Dead His Sister On HIS 17th Birthday

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A Florida teen with a history of gun violence shot his 13-year-old sister in the back of the head moments after she hugged him on his 17th birthday, police say.

Martaevious Santiago pointed a loaded semi-automatic handgun at his sister Tedra King as she turned away after a hug in the kitchen of the family's Florida City home, Miami-Dade police said. Then he pulled the trigger.

Santiago's family and friends have called the killing a freak accident.

'He said, "Daddy, I'm sorry. It was an accident. I'm sorry, Dad," his stepfather, Vernon Williams, told WSVN 7 News, adding: 'I can't fault anyone for this here. It happened.'


He didn't mean to kill his sister,' family friend Shamara Perpall told the station.

The accused shooter's life had already been marred by gun violence even before the Tuesday night tragedy.  He told the radio station WLRN, in a series on young gun violence survivors,  that he himself had been to jail 18 times, mostly for robberies.

In December, Santiago was shot in the leg in his driveway, the station reported. His friend was shot in the head and nearly died.

Eleven months earlier, Santiago's younger brother Martwan was shot four times, according to the report. One bullet went through his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down.