TAUNTON, MA (RNN) – A 13-year-old boy in Massachusetts was arrested Monday after police say he shot another juvenile, following alleged cyberbullying.
Officers responded to the site of a reported shooting Monday afternoon where they found a 12-year-old boy with a single shot lodged in his lower rib cage, according to the Taunton Police Department’s Facebook page.
The bullet traveled through the boy’s left arm near the elbow before lodging in the rib cage, police say. He was transported to the hospital and is in stable condition, according to WBZ.
Police say the victim and the 13-year-old suspect live close to each other, and there had been an ongoing feud between the two.
Between three and five juveniles confronted the suspect in a wooded area as a result of a dispute police believe started on Facebook, according to the Taunton Gazette. They allegedly made comments that frightened the 13-year-old.
Police say the suspect then went to his home, unlocked a gun safe and retrieved a rifle. He returned to the scene where he shot the 12-year-old.
The rifle belonged to the suspect’s mother, according to WBZ. It’s unclear if the boy had the key to the gun safe or knew the combination.
The suspect’s mother, who did not want to be identified, told WBZ her son has been tormented for years.
Police located the 13-year-old at his home and arrested him. He is charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a loaded firearm without a license and discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a dwelling.
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