A tragic first day of summer vacation Thursday in the East Bay suburb of Antioch, as Deer Valley High School freshman Marcos Garcia was shot and killed with a seemingly harmless pellet gun. Garcia was 15 years old.
The ABC 7 video above has pictures of Garcia and heartbreaking commentary from Garcia’s grieving friends. "A little accident like that, you never know,” friend Chaz Myers told ABC 7. “I didn't think a BB gun could actually kill him,"
The teens were hanging out and playing inside a house on the 4300 block of Palomar Drive, just outside Antioch’s Country Manor Park. Antioch Police officers received the call about a shooting at 9:55 a.m. Thursday.
"I ran inside and saw Marcos lying on the floor unconscious," neighbor Jose Duran told ABC 7, "I don't know how long he wasn't breathing." According to KRON 4, Garcia was still alive but unresponsive when emergency medical personnel arrived. They performed CPR on Garcia and transported him to Sutter Delta Medical Center, where East County Today notes he passed away.
Antioch police have determined it was an accident, though it is unclear who owns the BB gun or how the teens acquired it. "During the investigation, it was learned that the juvenile victim was shot with a pellet rifle once in the chest, by a juvenile, male friend," Antioch Police sergeant John Fortner told East County Today. "At this time, based on several witness statements and evidence located at the scene, the incident appears to be a tragic accident."
Garcia’s friend Chaz Myers describes him as “A very good soccer player always plays soccer, he was very funny."
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