They don't have any blame. They know it's a tragic accident. But they did lose a son.
A Catoosa County teenager died Monday night after his stepbrother shot him in the gut with a gun police say he believed was unloaded.
Sheriff Gary Sisk said that 17-year-old Austin Dewayne Stapp was playing with a .38 revolver in the bedroom of his Edgemond Circle home in Ringgold around 11:20 p.m.
He pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
A 16-year-old Catoosa County boy died late Monday night when his stepbrother shot him in the abdomen at this house located at 385 Edgemond Circle, seen on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Ringgold, Ga. Capt. Chris Lyons said the teenagers were in their Edgewood Circle home when one of the boys accidentally fired a .38 revolver. The Catoosa County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at 11:24 p.m. Lyons said the department is not yet prepared to discuss specifically how the gun went off. Lyons also declined to provide the shooter's or the victim's name because they are teenagers. The shooter is 17. The victim was shot once, Lyons said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body is going to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab in Atlanta, where a medical examiner will perform an autopsy. He pulled it again.
"But there was still one round," Sisk said.
The bullet hit Stapp's 16-year-old stepbrother, whose name was not released Tuesday. The wounded boy then stumbled from the bedroom into the garage. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene, according to an incident report.
At least three other family members were home at the time, according to the report. Sisk met with the family Tuesday morning. He said they were still in shock. The sheriff's office does not plan to file charges against Stapp, who is considered an adult under Georgia law.
"They don't have any blame," Sisk said of the rest of the family's feelings toward Stapp. "They know it's a tragic accident. But they did lose a son."
After meeting with the family, Sisk wanted to reiterate some of the basics of gun safety as a message to others: always treat a gun like it's loaded when you first get it, and if you decide to fire, point at an area away from people. In this case, he said Stapp might have been fooled that the gun was empty when he pulled the trigger the first time. But this was a revolver.
Catoosa County Capt. Chris Lyons said Tuesday that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is helping the sheriff's office look into the shooting.
The victim's body was taken Tuesday to the GBI crime lab in Atlanta, where a medical examiner will perform an autopsy.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.