An Akron teenager is in police custody after he allegedly used Facebook Live to broadcast himself firing a rifle into his neighbor’s home from his window because he was bored.
The 15-year-old was arrested on charges of having weapons illegally, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and discharging a firearm in city limits. He was transported to the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center, where he’s being held pending court proceedings.
In the videos, the teen acknowledges someone might be home next door before he fires a .22-caliber rifle shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday night. The boy lives in the 1000 block of Bloomfield Avenue, in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood.
His friends are seen reacting with laughter emojis after he fires the gun. He then tries to hang a sheet in his window, seemingly to hide that he’s the one firing. His friends then dare him to fire the gun again, and he does. At one point, he threw the possibly loaded rifle against a wall seemingly to amuse his viewers. At another point, he squeezed the trigger while aiming at what he said is a dog outside, but the gun either misfired or wasn’t loaded.
No one was injured in the incident, which lasted until close to 9 p.m.
Police recovered a .22-caliber pump-action rifle and a Smith and Wesson M&P 9 mm handgun, which he wielded in the videos, from the boy’s home.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .