COLUMBUS — An Ohio father was arrested last week in connection with a case where his teenage son allegedly shot and killed his 11-year-old cousin.
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The Columbus Division of Police arrested 33-year-old Matthew Seymour on Friday after he was indicted on involuntary manslaughter and endangering children charges, our news partners WBNS-10 TV reported.
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Seymour’s teenage son is charged with reckless homicide after prosecutors say he accidentally shot and killed Amya Frazier.
The shooting happened Dec. 5 in the 200 block of South Wheatland Avenue in the Hilltop neighborhood, WBNS-10 TV reported.
Seymour spoke with WBNS-10 TV last week after his son’s first hearing.
“My son made a mistake, and he’s going to pay for it — and he’s probably not the only one who’s going to pay for it,” Seymour said outside of the juvenile courtroom.
Seymour told WBNS-10 TV that around 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 5, he woke up to his dogs barking and thought someone was outside his home. He said he grabbed his gun from a locked box to check, but found no one there.
“I placed the gun on top of a mini fridge on the floor and forgot about it,” he said. “I went to pick up my niece and take her to the house. Then I went to my grandfather’s home.”
Later that morning, Seymour said he got a call that his son had “shot a friend,” then moments later, he learned the victim was his niece, WBNS-10 TV reported.
Prosecutors told the court that 10 to 11 children were in the home at the time of the shooting.
According to their account, the 14-year-old “cocked back the hammer once and pulled the trigger, which resulted in the weapon clicking. The juvenile then cocked back the hammer and pulled the trigger a second time. This time, the weapon discharged.”
Seymour is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail.
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