AP Exclusive: Teen’s killing by friend goes to special jury

In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, Regina Culver stands outside the window of her Billings, Mont., home through which her 17-year-old son shot and killed a friend who was knocking on her son's window late at night. Culver says she doesn't think criminal charges are warranted in a case that prosecutors plan to put before a special coroner's jury. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015 photo, Regina Culver stands outside the window of her Billings, Mont., home through which her 17-year-old son shot and killed a friend who was knocking on her son's window late at night. Culver says she doesn't think criminal charges are warranted in a case that prosecutors plan to put before a special coroner's jury. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

By Associated Press July 25, 2015 5 min read

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – The parents of a Montana teenager who shot and killed a friend knocking on his bedroom window late at night say he shouldn’t face criminal charges over what they describe as a tragic accident.

In an exclusive interview, they told The Associated Press that they blame themselves for allowing the teen to keep a loaded revolver in his room.

As a prosecutor moves to put the case before a special jury to decide on charges, the May shooting has revived the debate over the so-called Castle Doctrine that sometimes allows the use of lethal force to defend one’s home. It’s also raised questions about the 17-year-old shooter’s easy access to the handgun, given his age.

Fifteen-year-old MacKeon “Mackey” Schulte was killed as he and another boy tried to wake up Seth Culver at about 2:30 a.m., less than a block from where the three attended high school in Billings, Montana’s largest city.

Startled by the noises at his window, Culver grabbed a World War II-era, .38-caliber handgun given to him as a present by his father and shot once through the glass, striking MacKeon in the head, according to authorities and Culver’s parents.