Waveland teen’s shooting death under investigation. Was it an accident?

The Waveland Police Department is investigating the shooting death of a 14-year-old male on Saturday.

The juvenile, whose name was not released, was a passenger in the back seat of a Dodge Ram also occupied by three adults. An adult male in the back seat said a handgun accidentally went off as he was removing it from its holster.

“He advised that he was clearing the weapon and his hand slipped and the gun went off,” a news release from Chief Mike Prendergast said.

Prendergast said that Waveland officers were dispatched to the scene Saturday morning. The juvenile died hours later at a New Orleans hospital, the chief said.

The accident remains under investigation.

This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 5:10 PM.

Anita Lee

Sun Herald

601-909-0638

Anita, a Mississippi native, graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and previously worked at the Jackson Daily News and Virginian-Pilot, joining the Sun Herald in 1987. She specializes in in-depth coverage of government, public corruption, transparency and courts. She has won state, regional and national journalism awards, most notably contributing to Hurricane Katrina coverage awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. Support my work with a digital subscription